Walking Dead 1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys and welcome to Against the Wind, the next installment, sequel, whatever you want to call it – of Daryl and Tessa's life. This story will encompass the fourth season and beyond (however-so-much as I choose to go) and will pick up about six months after the end of the epilogue in That Was Then, This is Now. Now, considering they haven't really come out and told us how much of a time gap there is between Season 3 and Season 4, I'm going to go with about six months, which makes the twins and Judith right around 8 months old. So yeah, they're going to be doing some cool stuff, as well as Sam coming in and often throwing his own monkey wrenches into everything and having a very volatile relationship with Daryl (as you can imagine). Oh my God, I'm so excited! XD**

**Anyway! Thanks everyone who ended up reading the epilogue in TWTTN and then immediately coming over here and reading this chapter (or even people who never read TWTTN and decided to read this one, etc, etc (Go read TWTTN if you haven't done so yet or your probably gonna be confused!)) you guys are amazing and I hope you like this story as much as you did the last one – I have a lot of exciting things planned, as well as whatever AMC is going to hand us this season as well. :)**

**You guys know the deal: Read, review, enjoy (no flames or your ass gets called out at the beginning of every chapter along with the other reviewers!) and the disclaimer is only gonna come once.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead and everything associated with it are property of AMC and Robert Kirkman. The only people I do own are Tessa, Ethan, Wren, Sam, the twins and probably anyone you do not immediately recognize from the show.**

**Anyway, enough of me rambling! Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana **

**PS - Sorry if its kinda rushed a little jumpy, but this is mainly a filler chapter - the real drama starts the next chapter. Sorry guys, but the filler chapters always have to come first. There is also a little discrepancies in this chapter that do not match with the show (you'll know them when you see them) but please, do your best to ignore them - they are there for a reason. I will also be stealing a number of scenes from Carol and giving them to Tessa (for obvious reasons) so for those of you who like Carol, I don't, so get over it ;)**

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_Six Months Later_

"Easy on the reins there, Wren – soft in her mouth, okay? She's not fragile but if you get to yanking too hard she might buck and we don't want that."

Wren nodded as she continued to trot the horse in a circle around Tessa, the older woman slowly turning in a circle as she moved around her. "How does she feel so far?" She asked her and Wren nodded but didn't say anything. It was an action that caused Tessa to grin, knowing the young girl was concentrating on doing everything right, opposed to listening to her.

"Tess, can I go next?"

"Yeah, I wanna ride!"

"Please, Tess, _please_!"

Tessa grinned and glanced at the three little girls standing on the bars of the round pen surrounding them and she nodded and gave them a wink. "Give us one more minute, okay, girls? They don't call her Nervous Nelly for anything, so let Wren warm her up and get her a little tired before we pony ride you guys, okay?" Her eyes fell on the fourth little girl standing on the bars a few feet away, silently watching, and she gave her a small smile. "That okay with you, Rosie?"

The little girl nodded as she gave her a small smile, and Tessa returned the smile as she turned back to Wren, not noticing the two men making their way down the gravel driveway towards the animal pens and the rapidly growing garden. One wore his signature flannel and blue jeans while the other wore a white t-shirt and khaki pants. Both grinned as they neared the round pen, though, and Tessa smiled at one but ignored the other.

"Hey Rick, how you doing this fine day?" She asked him, her eyes staying always on Wren and Nelly, and the one in the khaki pants nodded in reply.

"I'm doing pretty well - you?" She nodded and gave a half-shrug.

"Same here," She answered him before glancing at him with a grin. "By the way, Aayla said her first word last night."

Rick immediately grinned and moved to lean on the railing then, the other man doing the same as Tessa smiled a small smile. Her and Rick weren't exactly getting along right around the time of the Governor's angry rampage, but things seemed to go back to normal between them when everything was settled and Rick relaxed on the reins of power a little. And gradually, they found him starting to turn more and more decisions over to the council, opting to do more things around the prison, than making rounds or something else having to do with a gun or leadership. He was calmer and saner than he had been before allowing himself to relax and even Carl was doing better now that he had a father he could interact with and look up to. Rick's relationship with Daryl was even back to what it had been before and for that, Tessa was glad. She was starting to get tired of all the drama that been running rampant in the group before and right around the whole thing with the Governor was going on.

"Oh, that's cool! What was it?" He asked and Tessa gave him a look.

"What do you think?" She asked him and Rick laughed.

"It was 'dada', wasn't it?" He asked with a good-natured roll of his eyes and Tessa grinned and laughed as she nodded. The twins had grown a lot in the six short months that spanned between the battle with Governor and then. They were crawling and getting into everything, starting to babble in their own incoherent baby language and were even starting to say their first words ('Mama' with Danny and 'dada' with Aayla, which didn't shock anyone considering how much of a daddy's girl Aayla was). However, they were still a little reserved around strangers (which were many people in the prison now) and they constantly clung to Tessa and Daryl when Wren, Ethan, Beth, Carol or Maggie wasn't around them. But they were gorgeous babies, nonetheless, dark like Tessa with her blue-black hair (although Daryl swore up and down that Danny's hair color was a _tad _bit more brown than Aayla's was) and the beautiful Dixon big blue eyes.

"So what are you doing today?" She asked him and Rick gave a shrug as he gestured to the man beside him.

"Oh, nothing much, I don't think; there's not much to do today. Sam here is going to help me in the garden and then after that, I don't know what we're going to be doing." Tessa nodded as her eyes flickered to the man standing beside him and he gave her a small smile, one that Tessa did not return. Sam was her ex. Husband – the ex. Husband she _thought_ had died in Atlanta in order to allow her and her Daryl's oldest son, Ethan, to escape the group of walkers they had been running from. He had been gone for about a year when he suddenly waltzed in sometimes around six months ago – _alive. _He threw one mean monkey wrench into everything, especially considering that she and Daryl had the twins and, for all intents and purposes, was married now. Needless to say, Daryl didn't exactly like him and he didn't exactly go out of his way to hide it.

"We also have a council meeting later – don't forget." He told her before walking off and Tessa nodded, letting him know that she would indeed, remember, as he pushed himself off of the railing and moved over to the garden. Sam lingered at the railing for a moment, watching them, before Tessa staring him down finally got him to move on. He quickly followed after Rick and she shook her head as she crossed her arms and glanced at Wren.

"I think that's all for today, Wren, okay? It's hot and Nelly looks tired, so why don't you take the girls and go untack her? We'll pony ride them tomorrow if the weather's good and we have time." Wren nodded as she pulled the horse to a walk and she gave Tessa a small smile.

"Where's Ethan, Tess, do you know?" She asked her and Tessa gave a shrug.

"Probably with Daryl getting ready for today's run – you know those two are practically best friends and inseparable! But tell you what: I'm on my way to find Daryl now; if I see Ethan, I'll point him in your direction before he leaves, okay?" She told her and Wren gave her a thankful smile and nodded. Wren was the daughter of Tessa's former best friend before the walker apocalypse began and they had found her and her older brother, Seth – who was now deceased – in a run-down Holiday Inn Express while seeking shelter from the harsh winter climate before they discovered the prison. She was like her and Daryl's adoptive daughter and she was also Ethan's long-term girlfriend, a fact that had caused many broken hearts when the various teenage girls new to the prison met and subsequently discovered that the cute, fourteen-bordering-on-fifteen-year-old Ethan Dixon was taken until further notice.

"Are you looking for Mr. Daryl, Mrs. Tess?" One of the younger girls cheerfully asked from their spot hanging on the railing and Tessa grinned and nodded as she moved over to her, where she leaned on the railing beside her.

"Why, yes I am looking for Mr. Daryl, Miss. Katie. Can you tell me where I can find that wayward husband of mine?" She asked her and the little girl grinned and turned around at the waist, where she pointed up towards the enclosed prison yard.

"He was up there in the breakfast tent when we were walking down here. He mentioned something about finding you later but he might have forgotten. He seemed like he had a lot on his mind." She told her and Tessa nodded and glanced up at the smoke rising from up the hill.

"He probably did. Was he with Ethan, do you know?" She asked her and Katie thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I think he was. They were about to eat before getting ready for the run." Tessa nodded and turned a triumphant look onto Wren still sitting on Nelly behind her.

"I do think we've found our Dixons, Wren!" She told her and Wren grinned as Tessa smiled and smoothed a hand down Katie's curly auburn locks before thanking her and leaving the round-pen. "Put Nelly up and then come find us, okay, Wren? I'm sure Ethan will want to see you before he leaves." She called to her over her shoulder before beginning the trek up the hill towards the enclosed yard and Wren nodded and called to her that she would as she dismounted from the mare, landing nimbly on her feet as she did so. Tessa smiled and shook her head good-naturedly as she opened the chain-link gate to the yard and closed it before making her way to the cooking tent (which really wasn't a tent at all, just a wooden enclosure, but once people started calling it that, the name seemed to stick like glue). She gave Carol a smile as the older woman stood behind the grill and she met her right when Daryl was walking down the rows of picnic tables towards them. She grinned when he reached her and immediately planted a kiss on her lips. When they parted, she heard him let out a slightly irritated breath as calls of 'Hey Daryl', still reached him from the people grouped around the various picnic tables.

"Something smells good, Carol." He spoke, trying to change the subject before a subject was even brought up, and Tessa grinned as Carol thanked him and handed them each two plates.

"Just so you know, Daryl, I liked you first. I also had a claim staked to you first too, in case you have forgotten." Tessa reminded him with a grin as she moved a lock of his dark brown hair out of his eyes and he grinned back as he handed her, her plate, which she took, but not before he tilted his head slightly to place a sweet kiss on the inside of her wrist.

"Oh, is tha' true, now, babydoll?" He asked her, his eyes glinting in amusement, and she nodded as he picked up some food from his plate and tossed it in his mouth. "Ya know, Rick brought in a lot of 'em too - it wasn' jus' me." He told her and this time, it was Carol who answered as she handed Tessa a spoon and a fork. Unlike Daryl, Tessa didn't eat with her fingers unless she absolutely had to. Of course, then again, part of Daryl's reason was because he was constantly busy and had to scarf down his food before moving onto something else, but still . . . Tessa just couldn't do it.

"Not lately. You've brought in a lot, Daryl – you've given people shelter and put food in their bellies . . ."

"Yeah, eventually, baby, you're going to have to learn to live with the love." Tessa finished for her and he shot her a playful look.

"Is tha' right?" He asked her and her and Carol rolled their eyes at each other as Tessa gestured to him.

"Go ahead, show him." She told her and Carol nodded as Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion as he glanced at her.

"Show me what?"

"Hey Patrick, would you mind taking over for me? I got to go to the library and get today's story-time prepped." They heard Carol ask a nearby teenage boy handling the plates and silverware before Tessa could even answer him. He turned to gaze up at her and smiled and nodded as he quickly moved to take her place, Carol handing him the spatula when he neared her. He stopped, though, when he saw Daryl and Tessa and immediately, a grin lit up his face. Tessa had moved to stand beside Daryl in the meantime, and together, they moved to go take a place at one of the picnic tables to eat, but stopped as well when they noticed him lingering.

"Uh, Mr. Dixon . . .?" He spoke up, a little nervously, and Tessa and Carol immediately grinned as Daryl gave him a funny look.

"Uh . . . yeah?" He asked, making it clearly evident that he had _never _been called 'Mr. Dixon' before, and the teenager (Patrick, was it?) smiled.

"I just want to thank you for bringing in that deer yesterday – you and Ethan, although I've already thanked him." He told him and a slightly shocked look crossed Daryl's eyes then. Tessa gave a laugh and smoothed a hand down his chest as she turned her eyes back onto Patrick. "It was a real treat sir, and Mrs. Dixon," He began before he stopped, a light blush spreading across his cheeks then. "Y-you make story-time magical." He told her and while Tessa gave him a gentle smile, she could sense Daryl using all the strength in his body to keep from laughing. "So, I would be honored to shake you two of your hands!"

Tessa immediately took his hand and politely shook it but felt the urge to laugh at the look in Daryl's face as Patrick extended his hand to him next. Daryl glanced down at it for a minute like his hand belonged to some foreign alien before glancing uneasily at Tessa and Carol, who both had amused looks on their faces. After swallowing hard and nodding, he noisily licked off his fingers before taking it, where he gave it a slightly sarcastic shake. The kid flinched slightly at the tight grip of Daryl's handshake but they saw the dopey grin that immediately spread across Patrick's face at the motion, nonetheless. He nodded as Tessa turned and moved off to one of the picnic tables then after telling Carol that she would be in to help with story-time later. Daryl following close behind her as Carol moved off in the direction of the library, nodding at Tessa as she did so.

"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked him and Daryl gave a laugh and a grin.

"I think tha' was ma first handshake in years!" He gave a snort of laughter. "'_Mr. Dixon' . . . _damn, haven' been called tha' yet. And besides, how could I ever compare to ya, Tess - ya make story-time _magical_!" He told her and she replied with a laugh as they took a seat at one of the picnic tables and as Tessa slapped him reprimandingly on the arm. Daryl gave a breath of relief, though, when he sat down and Tessa turned her eyes onto him as an amused smile appeared on her face.

"Getting tired, old man?" She asked him and Daryl shot her a playful look as he shook his head.

"I keep forgettin' tha' ya weren' tha one who stayed up half tha night with Aayla last night 'cause she couldn' sleep," He shook his head as he took another bite of food. "I swear to God, Tess, gettin' tha' kid to sleep takes _hours_!" Tessa let out a scoff at his words as she too shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth. She chewed for a minute before swallowing and answering him.

"You think _you _getting her to bed is bad? Baby, _please_ - it's ten times worse when someone _else_ tries it! Me and the girls aren't lying when we say that only you has the ability to get her to sleep!"

He tiredly shook his head. "Why couldn' she be like Danny? Kid sleeps like a damn rock!" He muttered and Tessa grinned as she leaned over and placed a chaste but loving kiss to his lips.

"If she was like Danny, then she wouldn't be your little Huntress, now would she?" She asked him and he slowly – rather reluctantly – shook his head.

"No . . . no she wouldn'."

Tessa nodded, smiling as she took another mouthful. She chewed again before turning a curious gaze onto him. "Where's Ethan?" She asked him and he shrugged as he glanced at her.

"He's with the others gettin' ready for the run, I think. Why?" Tessa shrugged.

"No reason, except Wren wanted to know. She's probably already found him, though, knowing her." Daryl nodded as he got to his feet then.

"Prolly right – come on, babydoll, walk with me."

Tessa nodded as she stood and after picking up her and Daryl's plates, dropped them off at Patrick before the both of them continued towards the front of the prison, where everyone would be getting ready for the run. She glanced at him as they walked. "You guys might not have as many people going with you as last time, okay? A lot are still busy getting rid of the walkers at the fences." She told him and he nodded.

"How many are there?"

"We had a pretty big build-up overnight. Tower three and four are absolutely swamped." She heaved a sigh then. "It's almost as bad as last month, Daryl. They don't spread out as much anymore."

"We'll get rid of 'em, don' worry." He promised her confidently, and she shrugged and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"As long as we don't have any more fence clingers that threaten to knock down the wall like last time, we should be good. We have as many people working on it as we can, but . . ." She gave a shrug and glanced at him then. "It just doesn't take the fear away, you know?" He nodded as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close as they continued walking.

"So, ya gonna come with us this time?" He asked her and Tessa gave a laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Daryl, I've enough stuff to do here as it – keeping an eye on the twins, helping Carol with story-time, making sure the cleaners are doing their jobs, et cetera. Not-to-mention, we have a council meeting tonight too that we need to get ready for . . ." She trailed off then and Daryl nodded.

"I know, I know, but ya said tha' ya would come out with us this time and I don' aim to let ya jus' ignore those words!" He gave her a loving smile. "Look, I know ya don' like comin' out with us considerin' what happened last time with Merle, but ya should know better than tha' now!" He shook his head. "Come out with us, Tess! Ya gettin' better with ya aim and it'd do ya right to get out of the prison. You'd enjoy it."

They had reached the others busy loading up the cars with gear by then, and she returned his smile as they turned to face each other. "If I went, I wouldn't have to stay here and worry about you coming back, would I?" She asked him and he shook his head as his hands curled around her hips, where he brought her closer to him.

"Nope . . ."

"And I'd be able to keep an eye on you too, wouldn't I . . . make sure nothing happens to you . . ."

He nodded. "Yup . . ."

"And I _could _get some things that the twins needs instead of sending a laundry list -!"

Daryl grinned and shook his head, successfully interrupting her. "Babydoll, jus' shut up and say ya'll come!" He told her and she grinned and nodded as he leaned down and kissed her, deep and loving and her arms wound around his neck as his arms wrapped around her. He pulled her tighter against him and she grinned against his lips as Ethan's amused voice reached them across the way:

"Deddy, momma, get a room – ya two are almost obscene!"

Daryl grinned and looked over his shoulder at him standing with Wren, his arms around her in a tight hug. "Ya two shouldn' be talkin', smart-ass! It's a damn romance novel out here, I swear to God!" He called back and Ethan grinned back.

"Hey, what is it that you always tell me? It's better to be a smart-ass than a dumbass?"

Daryl shook his head and rolled his eyes as he turned back to Tessa. "So ya are comin' with us?" He asked her and she sighed and nodded.

"Speaking you aren't going to be leaving it alone anytime soon, I suppose I am. Who's going with us?"

Daryl glanced over his shoulder at the people trickling their way in. "Other than me, you and Ethan, there's also Short Round, Tyrese, Sasha and a couple of others, including Beth's new boy toy." He turned around. "Why?" She shook her head.

"No reason, just wanted to know." She told him and he nodded as he leaned down and pressed one last lingering kiss to her lips before they broke apart and he took her hand, where he pulled her over to the bike. Ethan immediately grinned and broke apart from Wren as he moved to meet them, Wren hot on his heels.

"Hey, is momma comin'?" He asked and Daryl nodded.

"Yup; I finally got her to say yes." He told him and Ethan nodded.

"That's awesome! Now I won't need to take in a laundry list of shit we need and get half of them wrong, only to get yelled at later!" He told her and Tessa laughed as they nodded and she turned to face Wren.

"Be sure to go check on the twins, okay? They're going through that separation anxiety phase and they get a little emotional if they don't see anyone they know for a while. Can you also go find Carol and ask her to hold off story-time until we're back? She'll understand." She told her and Wren nodded as she smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead as Daryl started up the bike. She quickly hopped on behind him and when she was comfortingly situated behind him, she turned her eyes onto the girl again. "We'll be back before you know it, okay?" She promised her and Wren nodded again as Ethan pecked her on the lips before giving her one last lingering hug. He then ran off in the direction of the car that Glenn was getting into as Wren followed Beth as the two girls moved off in the direction of the prison.

The cars quickly fell in procession behind the both of them on the bike, and as they were rumbling down the gravel drive to the front gate, they quickly drew up on Rick and Sam standing with Michonne. The tall, willowy African American woman grinned when she saw Tessa and Tessa returned the grin as Daryl pulled off beside them and cut the engine.

"Hey, you're back!" Tessa spoke up and Michonne nodded.

"Yup. I picked up some comic books for Carl and an electric razor for that jungle growing on Rick's face," She spoke and they both laughed as she then gave her a wink. "I got you what you needed, too, but don't worry," She gave her a smile. "I'll give it to you later, okay?" Tessa nodded as Daryl shot her a look before turning his eyes onto Rick.

"We're headin' out – goin' to go check out tha' Big Spot tha' I was tellin' ya 'bout a while back. Shouldn't take too long; we'll be back before ya know it." He told him and Rick nodded as he told him about how he was going to go check the snares in the woods before the walkers got to the meat. Tessa's hands, meanwhile, remained resting on the tops of Daryl's thighs as she sat behind him and listened to Rick. The entire time, she could feel Sam's eyes burning holes into them, as well as feel the tenseness of Daryl's body as he forced himself to keep gazes with Rick instead of moving them onto the man standing beside his best friend.

Michonne gave a smile then when Rick finished. "You know what? I'll go with you guys." She told him and Rick held out his arms slightly. Michonne grinned and gave him a wink as she ran her hand down his chest. "I'll be fine, I promise. Like Daryl said, we'll be back before you know it!" She promised him and Rick pursed his lips before eventually nodding. Carl gave her a slightly incredulous look, as well.

"But you just got here!" He told her and she sent him a grin.

"Well, I'm leaving again." She told him with a good-natured confidence and Tessa grinned as the two of them clasped hands before Michonne headed off in the direction of the nearest car. She hadn't really liked Michonne in the beginning, but she found herself slowly warming up to the woman before she found herself developing a friendship with her. Now, Michonne was probably the closest she had to a best friend aside from Maggie and not many people other than Rick and Daryl could tolerate some of Michonne's moods, so it fit.

"Don't worry, I'll go get the gate." Rick told him and Daryl nodded as he slapped him on the chest before cutting on the bike.

"Tess, be careful, okay?" Sam quickly spoke up before he could stop himself and when Tessa turned her eyes onto him, he felt his breath catching in his throat for a moment. He had forgotten how beautiful they were.

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Daryl finally turning his eyes onto him. His eyes were cold and slightly threatening when they locked onto his and as always when he found Daryl staring at him, Sam took a step back.

"Don' worry . . . she will be with me." He told him before popping up the kickstand and driving off, the cars quickly falling back into procession behind them. Sam stood there and watched them go for a minute and when he temporarily locked eyes with Ethan sitting in the car driving behind them, he gave a small smile and a wave. However, Ethan didn't wave back and Sam swallowed heavily as his eyes fell back onto the bike leading the procession – at the white angel wings on black leather and the thick curtain of black hair that whipped behind them and realized something: all along as they made their way from the reservation through Atlanta, and even when they were separated, he had never really been scared that Tessa and Ethan would become walkers – he had been scared that Tessa would find Daryl again, the one man that he had never been able to compare to and now he definitely couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys and welcome to chapter two of Against the Wind. I'm super excited about this chapter, because not only do I think I did a pretty damn good job on it, but I also think you guys are going to enjoy it as well. Its got humor, action, Daryl/Tessa fluff, friendship and most exciting of all - some little bitty plot twists! Enjoy! :)**

**HaloHunter89: I knew you would be coming back but still, I'm happy to see your still here :). And yeah, I knew you would form the official Sam Hate Club right off the bat and I love it because even though I'm going to enjoy writing him, I already have a pretty decent plot-line mapped out for him that includes general awkwardness around Tessa and Ethan and yes - apprehension around Daryl. But then again, think about it: Sam was a highschool science teacher and Daryl is . . . Daryl is a badass redneck with a crossbow and some serious anger issues if you fuck with Tessa. Yeah, how do you think that would go? ;)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Nice to see you again - hopefully you'll love this chapter, cause I did throw some wrenches into it :)**

**Katara Melody Cullen: Thanks for reading; hope you continue to enjoy :)**

** scoobydoo0811: Four words: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! Ha ha, just kidding - glad your back! :)**

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They arrived at the Big Spot a little around half an hour later, only to find the entire front of the store closed off by a chain-link fence and littered with military issued tents and vehicles. "Military came and put up tha fence – made it a sanctuary for tha people. When we came by last week to scope this place out, there was a bunch of walkers behind tha chain-link, keeping people out like a bunch of guard dogs." Daryl explained to Tessa and one of the newer men, a former army medic by the name of Bob Stookey, walked up to them, his assault rifle in his hands.

"So ya'll just left?" He asked and Sasha nodded towards the encampment.

"Give a listen."

They quieted down then and sure enough, they heard the sound of patriotic music coming in from a radio somewhere within the camp before their eyes were drawn to the human-sized - somewhat bloody - hole cut into the metal chain-link. Sasha smiled with pride as Michonne turned her eyes onto her.

"You drew 'em out?" She spoke and Sasha nodded.

"Put a boombox out there three days ago."

"And hooked it up to three car batteries." Glenn added as Daryl made his slow way to the hole in the fence, keeping his eyes peeled for any wayward walkers still within. When he was sure he didn't see any, he glanced over his shoulder at Ethan and nodded, a nod that Ethan quickly returned as he hastened to move in behind him.

"Okay, let's make a sweep and make sure it's safe. Grab what ya can - we'll come back tomorrow with more people."

Everyone nodded as they filed inside behind them, their eyes constantly scanning the broad space around them for the telltale signs and noises of walkers. When they were sure that none were lingering around the space, they made their way to the front, where Daryl elbowed the glass window three times before taking a seat on the brick windowsill. He gave a shrug as Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion. "Lures tha walkers this way and makes it easier for us to get rid of 'em; jus' give 'em a second." He told her and she nodded as Ethan, Michonne and Beth's boyfriend, Zach, joined them as the others continued to sweep and sift through the rest of the encampment for anything they might need. Ethan took a seat on Daryl's left, whereas Zach took a seat on his right. He grinned at him.

"Okay, I think I got it . . ." He spoke up and Ethan rolled his eyes, already knowing where this was going. Tess;a's eyebrows, however, remained furrowed in both confusion and curiosity.

"Got what?" She asked, and Zach shot her a grin before turning his eyes back onto Daryl and gesturing to him.

"What your man did before the whole world went to shit; I've been trying to guess." He told her and Tessa grinned and let out a laugh as she nodded.

"Oh – of course you are!"

Daryl shot her an indulgent look. "He's been tryin' to guess for 'bout three weeks now." He told her and she shook her head as she moved over to him, where she wrapped her arm around his neck. His arm reflexively moved to wrap around her waist, where he pulled her closer to him and down until she was sitting on his knee. Ethan moved from his place on the wall, to stand between them and Michonne in order to pay better and Tessa shared a look with him that made him grin. Only Tessa and Ethan knew what Daryl did before the apocalypse begun and it probably wasn't something that would immediately pop into someone's head . . . not anymore, anyway.

"Sorry Zach, honey, but I doubt your ever gonna get it." She told him as a good-natured grin appeared on her face and Zach shook his head.

"No, no, no, I have this time – I know I do! And besides, _you _said I get one shot a day and this is my shot for the day!" He replied, pointing at him, and Daryl grinned and shook his head as he turned his head to face him, shifting slightly as he did so in order to make Tessa more comfortable. His hands clasped as his arms looped and moved to hang loosely around Tessa's waist.

"Alright, well shoot. What did I do before all this shit began?"

Zach nodded and stayed silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before he turned his eyes back onto Daryl, a slightly amused, slightly smug gleam appearing in his eyes. Tessa balked slightly but a look of amusement still lingered in her eyes, nonetheless. By God, the kid really thought he had it!

"Okay, well the way you are at the prison – being on the council, being able to track – helping people. But, you still can be . . ." He trailed off then, thinking for the word he wanted before rolling his eyes and continuing: "_Surly_."

Tessa and Michonne immediately gave a laugh at that and Daryl cocked a half grin as he turned his eyes onto Tessa. "What's so funny?" He asked and Tessa shook her head and waved her hand dismissively through the air.

"Nothing – nothing!" She told him before locking gazes with Michonne again, where the two women let out additional snorts of amusement. "Just . . . I would never have called you _surly_, that's all." She told him with a half-smile and he shook his head, not knowing if she was being sarcastic or cute or what, as he turned back to Zach, who hurried to explain himself.

"It all makes sense, though! You, my friend, used to be a homicide cop."

The laughter that fell forth from Michonne and Tessa's lips then at his answer, only made Zach immediately turn an obliviously shocked look onto them. "What?" He asked and Tessa and Michonne shook their heads. Ethan simply grinned and shook his head as well, as Daryl turned an expressionless gaze onto Tessa.

"What's so funny, babydoll?" He asked and Tessa shook her head, unable to stop laughing as Michonne managed to quiet down somewhat to speak.

"Nothin'. We're just shocked that Zach actually got it!" She grinned and Tessa nodded and choked down her laughter long enough to wrap her other arm around his neck, where she turned a determinedly serious look onto him.

"_Exactly_! I'm just . . ." She heaved a sigh then and looked away briefly before turning her eyes back onto him, her face fighting to remain serious. "Would you just mind explaining to me, though, Detective Dixon, why you haven't brought out the handcuffs yet?"

Ethan covered his mouth as he let out a laugh and turned around, only to walk off a little ways as Michonne broke out into another fit of laughter. Zach still had a slightly confused look on his face as Daryl sent her a sarcastic look that practically screamed: 'Oh-I'll-Show-You-Handcuffs'!

He nodded then. "Actually, the man's right," He spoke up and Tessa couldn't help but continue to grin as he turned his eyes back onto Zach, his face remarkably expressionless. "I was undercover when this shit went down."

A look of skepticism immediately appeared on Zach's face then as he took in Daryl's expressionless face before moving onto Tessa and Michonne's grinning ones and back again. "Oh come on, really?" He asked and Daryl nodded as sincerely as he could.

"Yup. I mean, I don' like to talk 'bout it 'cause there was a lot of heavy shit back in tha day, but, ya know . . . it put food on tha table," He trailed off then and glanced at Tessa. "And tha only reason I haven' brought out the handcuffs yet is because there's no place on our bed to snap 'em, duh!" He answered her with a wink and she rolled her eyes, although the grin remained on her face as Zach's look of skepticism grew.

"Oh come on man, your jerkin' my chain - you gotta be!"

Daryl gave him an amused look then, complete with its own little half-smile, and he rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Okay . . . I'll just keep guessin', I guess." He spoke and Daryl nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, ya keep doin' tha'." He told him and Zach opened his mouth to retort but they were interrupted by a walker slamming himself into the glass window behind them. Tessa jumped in fright and Daryl's arms immediately moved to tighten around her waist so that she wouldn't fall from her perch on his knee to the hard pavement below. Daryl and Zach glanced behind them at him before Daryl heaved a sigh and patted her on the ass. "Okay, babydoll, ya gotta get up – it's show time." He told her and Tessa obediently did as he was told, promptly getting to her feet and stepping away so that he could too. He whistled for the others to join them.

"You go _do_ this, Detective!" Tessa grinned with a slap on his ass and he shot her a grin as well as he moved over to the doors, the others falling in line behind him as a grinning Michonne joined her.

"So, just as a point of curiosity - what _did _he do before this whole thing began?" She asked her and Tessa gave a laugh.

"When he was with me throughout highschool and after highschool, he was a mechanic – a damn good one too."

"What about when you left?" She asked, one of her eyebrows rising, and Tessa rolled her eyes, although a grin still remained on her face, nonetheless.

"What do you think with a druggie brother like Merle? He was a fuckin' drug dealer. Damn good one too, from what I understand. Knew exactly where to get the primo shit and everything!" Michonne gave her a look.

"Are you fucking with me too?" She asked and Tessa gave a shrug.

"I'm telling you Michonne - Daryl was a drug dealer when I left! If there is a chance that he _wasn't_ though, then I'll guess you'll never know."

* * *

"Ethan, go get me this while I help Michonne -, it should be in a couple of aisles over. And please, for the love of God, get the right brand this time!" She told him and Michonne grinned as Ethan nodded and bounded off to go get what Tessa needed as the two women continued on with their buggies.

"You ever thought you'd go grocery shopping with me one day?" Michonne asked and Tessa let out a laugh.

"Hell, I never thought I would go grocery shopping ever _again_!" She told her with a snort of laughter before gesturing down one of the side aisles. "Let's go down this way, I gotta check to see if they have sheets – we're starting to run out." Michonne silently nodded as she followed behind her but stopped and grinned when she saw something cast forgotten on one of the shelves.

"Hey, Tess, look at this!"

Tess stopped and turned around, where she saw a playfully grinning Michonne holding up a lacy red nightie. "When is Daryl's birthday again?" She asked in curiosity, and Tessa immediately let out a laugh as she rolled her eyes and placed one of her hands on her hip.

"Oh my God Michonne, do you honestly -!"

"Yah, there is _no_ way ya bringin' tha' back! Good Lord, Tess, ya tits wouldn' even _begin _to fit in tha'!"

Tessa's eyes grew wide and she let out a sound of indignation as she spun around and slapped Daryl on the chest when his words reached her ears. He grinned and gave a shrug as he deposited some items into the buggy and she saw Zach grinning as well behind him. "_What_? It's true and ya know it!" He told her and she shook her head.

"Yeah, but you don't have to encourage her!" She reprimanded him and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure – _I _was encouraging' her!" He shook his head good-naturedly. "Anyway, we gotta go look for some car parts – running low on motor oil and shit like tha'. Be right back okay?" His eyebrows furrowed in slight concern. "Where's Ethan?"

"I sent him off in search of something for me; he should be back in a few." Daryl nodded and bent down to kiss her, but not before murmuring something in her ear that immediately had Tessa laughing. She slapped him on the arm again. "You're so bad!" She told him and he nodded in grinning agreement as him and Zach turned around, where they began walking in the direction they had come from. Michonne turned a curious gaze onto her.

"What did he say?"

Tessa shot her a grin over her shoulder. "He said maybe you should buy it for Rick . . ." She winked and she could have sworn she saw blush burning across her friend's face as she hastily replaced the nightie on the shelf from whence she had picked it up.

"I don't . . . maybe not, I mean, it's not like we haven't . . ."

Michonne took in the amused look Tessa was sending her and rolled her eyes. Her voice lowered substantially as she leaned forward. "You know that wouldn't fit me, Tess! And besides, it wouldn't be on me long enough for him to appreciate it!" She hissed and they heard a bark of a laugh come from the next aisle over before Daryl smugly called:

"Didn't I call it, Tess?"

"Oh shut up, Daryl! And yes, yes you did!" She called back to him and Michonne rolled her eyes as she hastened to catch up to her then.

"By the way, if I would have known that you'd be coming on this trip, I wouldn't have gotten that thing for you." She told her and Tessa shook her head.

"If you had known, I would have still made you get it. That's not exactly something I want Daryl to know I have – not unless he absolutely needs to, you know?"

"When are you going to take it?" She asked and Tessa glanced at her.

"Right when we get home and have everything unpacked. And don't let me forget, too! I don't exactly want to put it off and the sooner I know, the sooner I can get some sleep for once!"

* * *

"TESSA!"

"Daryl . . .?"

"Tessa, where are ya!"

"I'm right here baby, with Michonne and Ethan – we're fine! Now get down from that stack of beer, you're not Rambo!" She shouted up at him as Ethan stabbed his knife through a walker lumbering its way over to them. Blood shot out when he pulled the knife free and the walker fell to the floor as the ceiling above Daryl started creaking and groaning. Tessa's eyes immediately flitted up to it as more and more walkers started moving towards them, where they widened in horror.

Not long after they heard a massive crash and the sounds of many breaking bottles (and Tyrese calling that they were in the wine and beer section helping a trapped Bob out from underneath two collapsed shelves) all Hell broke loose and in a way they had _not _anticipated.

Tessa, Ethan and Michonne made their way over to Daryl, Zach and Tyrese grouped around the trapped Bob, as fast as they could. They reached them, right when the first walker crashed through the ceiling, only to hang by his guts from a broken beam of the ceiling.

"Oh, isn't that _yummy _looking?" Ethan muttered with a look of disgust and slight pain on his face and they all nodded in agreement as Tessa placed a hand to her stomach. Just _looking _at the walker made her stomach hurt!

"Yeah, uh, we should get going now!" Glenn had spoken and Daryl nodded as he gestured to Bob.

"Bob's still trapped under here, though – let's hurry and get him out."

"I'll get the other side, deddy -!"

_That _was when it started raining walkers.

Walker after walker after walker fell through the roof then, some slamming to the ground and splitting open like rotted pumpkins and watermelons, although a fair amount simply heaved themselves up and started walking or dragging themselves towards them. Tessa and Daryl were briefly separated due to Michonne and Ethan pushing her down various aisles, trying to loop back around to him and not draw so many walkers. Fighting through the ones who rained down and had not broken apart, they finally found him standing on a mountain of beer cases as walkers flanked him from all sides and while a crashed military helicopter dangled precariously through the roof over him.

"Deddy!"

"Holy shit – _Daryl_!"

They quickly fought their way through the walkers to get to him then, Tessa forgoing the gun in exchange for her knife. Plunging the knife through walker heads left and right, she was the first to reach him as Ethan and Michonne covered her back and sides. The ceiling groaned then as the helicopter slipped down a little more and Tessa latched onto his hand and pulled him roughly downwards.

"Daryl, get the _fuck _down -!" She roared, her voice eventually drowned out as the helicopter finally crashed through the roof. Daryl looped an arm around her waist and carried her backwards, Michonne and Ethan hot on their heels as the helicopter smashed into the boxes of beer that he had been standing on seconds earlier.

It was then, when the walker herd was starting to thin, that they turned their attention back onto Bob. Daryl dragged the walker who had been trying to take a chunk out of him, away from him and brought his boot roughly down onto his head as Tessa and Zach made their way over to the shelf. They lifted it up as Daryl drug him out from underneath it. Ethan's eyes grew wide with fear and horror and he quickly reached out and yanked his mother away from the shelf, right when a walker reached out from underneath the shelf, grabbed ahold of Zach and then took a bite out of his calf.

Tessa stumbled into Daryl's arms as they turned around and watched as Zach, screaming in pain, hit the floor and was quickly climbed by the walker, who sunk his teeth into his neck as Glenn roared out his name. Tessa's eyes widened in horror as he grip on Daryl's jacket tightened. Her eyes connected with her son's and she saw him swallow hard, his eyes still wide. If he hadn't seen the walker and made the split second decision to yank her away from him, that might be Tessa screaming on the floor in Zach's place.

Daryl shook his head as his arms tightened around Tessa and he quickly herded them towards the exit. "Leave him – leave him – go - go!" He yelled over the creaking and groaning and crashing of the building as it fell down around them and nobody wasted time after that. They all made a beeline for the entrance, only a few casting lingering, apologetic looks over their shoulders at the still screaming Zach being made into walker chow.

They ran out of the building right when it collapsed in on itself behind them and when they came to a stop, their breaths heaving as they fought to collect their bearings, Tessa threw herself out of Daryl's arms and pulled Ethan into a tight bear hug. "Momma . . . momma, I can't breathe -!"

"Oh Ethan, thank God you saw! Thank _God_!" She cried and Daryl turned a shocked gaze onto them.

"Saw what?"

Ethan swallowed hard as he gently pushed his mother away and turned his eyes onto Daryl. "I saw the walker underneath the shelf when Zach and momma were lifting it up." He shook his head. "The walker was going for momma, deddy, but I pulled her away before he could and that was when he grabbed onto Zach." He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I didn't save the both of them but I had to choose and I chose -!"

He was suddenly interrupted by Daryl pulling both him and Tessa into a hug, his body trembling as he held them close. Did he _honestly_ just come a hair's breadth to losing Tessa?

Ethan felt Daryl shake his head as he hugged them to him as tight as he could. "Ya always pick ya family, Ethan, ya understand me? If given tha' choice again, ya _always _pick ya family!" He shook his head as he pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Atta boy . . . _atta _boy!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, just letting you guys know now - there is an _extremely _pissed off Daryl in this chapter. And when I say pissed off, I mean very, _very _pissed off. There is also gratuitous cursing, because when Daryl's angry, his brain-to-mouth filter is the first thing to go flying out the window, as well as slight alcohol consumption and hopeless, hopeless, Dessa (or Taryl, whichever one you like) fluff at the end. Also, if the scene between Tessa and Sam seems a little rushed, I'm sorry for that - a lot of what they talk about WILL be brought up again in future chapters, so don't worry about that. **

**NanamiYatsumaki: When I first conceived Ethan as a little thought bubble inside my head, I knew he was going to eventually be a badass (not that he wasn't a badass before!) but when your dad's Daryl Dixon, you almost have no choice _but _to be as badass as him. I'm glad Ethan is fitting into those shoes really well. And thanks, I try to :)**

**scoobydoo0811: Keep reading, hun :)**

**HaloHunter89: Yeah, I had loads of fun writing their banter because I got to cut loose a little bit and have a little fun considering the serious part wouldn't come until the end of the chapter. Sam DOES interact with Tessa in this chapter and eventually, I do want him to have a little interaction between him and Ethan and possibly him and Rick (although I'm not sure about that yet). But yeah, I don't intend on having Ethan and Daryl's relationship change a lot because of that. Daryl's mature enough to know to direct his hatred at Sam, not Ethan.**

******Enjoy :)**

**- Nagiana**

**PS: I probably won't upload another chapter until Monday or Tuesday. The reason for that is because I generally like to keep an episode ahead of me as I'm working on writing through one episode (if that made any sense). And considering that the next chapter will be the beginning of Episode 2, then I want to wait until Episode 3 comes out tomorrow before I write any more. It just allows me to be one step ahead and be able to plan ahead, so yeah, just though I should let you guys know :)**

* * *

"Hey, how did it go out there?"

Tessa glanced at Carol as they stood by one of the bookcases, scanning the titles to try and pick one for reading time and when she saw the look in her eyes, Carol paled. "Oh my God, who did we lose?"

"Zach."

"Zach . . ._ Beth's_ boyfriend?" She asked and when Tessa numbly nodded, Carol gave a sigh of disappointment. "Who's going to tell her?"

"Daryl is," Tessa answered without skipping a beat. "He was good friends with Zach, no one else wanted to do it, so he volunteered." Carol's gaze lingered on hers for a moment then, and Tessa could feel the keenness in it.

"There's something else, isn't there? What else happened?"

Tessa turned to face her then, swallowing hard as she did so. "Carol, I could have been Zach."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Tessa shook her head as tears reluctantly filled her eyes. "The walker was _going _for me, Carol! No one else but Ethan saw – not even Daryl! When he did, he pulled me away and the walker latched onto Zach, instead." She shook her head as a look of dawning horror appeared on Carol's face when she finally understood her. "If Ethan hadn't been there, Carol, then _I_ wouldn't be here."

Without even saying anything, Carol pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh thank God he was there!" She breathed and Tessa nodded in agreement as they parted.

"Daryl's been shaken all day – the concept that he _almost _lost me and wouldn't even realize it until I was screaming on the floor like Zach was, _really _put him on edge." She shook her head as Carol nodded sagely, her arms crossing in front of her chest.

"He's like a lit fuse, isn't he?"

Tessa nodded as they finally picked out a book, right when everyone started arriving. Tessa handed it to Carol and she took it from her as they turned back to the center of the room where it was Carol's turn to do the reading. "Anything could set him off today, Carol – and I do mean _anything_."

Carol shook her head as she took a seat, the children moving to sit in a semi-circle before her. She glanced up at her as Tessa took a seat in a nearby chair beside her. "Then let's hope no one pisses him off today, huh?" She told her and Tessa nodded as Carol turned back to the children and after telling them what they were reading for that day, opened the book.

It wasn't long after Carol began reading, that Tessa found she could sit still no longer, and got up to stand behind the children, where she could readily patrol the library if she felt too antsy. "The children fastened their eyes upon the bit of candle, and watched it melt slowly and piteously away – saw the half inch of wick stand tall and alone at last. Saw the feeble flame rise and fall . . ."

After a moment of hanging around and listening, Ryan Samuels waved and Tessa as Carol continued reading, before gesturing that he was going to leave, and Tessa nodded and gave him a slight smile as he left.

"Climbed the thin tower of smoke . . ."

Tessa turned her eyes back onto Carol's then and their gazes locked briefly. They waited until the door was completely closed behind Ryan, before they subtly nodded.

"Linger at its top for a moment and then . . ."

Carol closed the book after a moment and got up from the chest she was sitting on, Tessa moving to quickly help her. "Uh, Mrs. Tessa . . .?"

"Yes?" Tessa asked as she turned around, only to see one of the little boys gesture to the door.

"Should I take watch?" He asked and Tessa smiled and nodded.

"Yes, sweetie, you can go take watch."

"Today," Carol began as Tessa moved aside so that she could set the tray down. "We are talking about knives – how to use them and how they could possibly save your life. And you're in luck because today, we have someone who is pretty adept at using knives." She spoke and Tessa gave a grin and a laugh.

"I wouldn't exactly say that, but sure -"

"Uh, ma'am . . .?"

Tessa and Carol both looked up when Tessa was interrupted, only to see Patrick nervously raising his hand. He looked suddenly more nervous than he had been and Tessa's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Patrick, honey, are you all right?" She asked and Patrick gave a half-shrug.

"Well, truthfully, I'm not feeling very well – may I be dismissed?"

"Sometimes you're going to have to fight through it, though." Carol told him and he swallowed hard as he eyed the various knives sitting on the stand before them. "What if you wind up out there, alone? Are you just going to give 'cause you're feeling bad?" He shook his head.

"No, it's just . . ." He turned a slightly pleading gaze down onto Tessa. "Please can I be dismissed, Mrs. Dixon? I don't want to yak on someone."

Lizzie Samuels quickly moved away from him and Carol nodded as Tessa's eyes fell on Michonne hanging around outside the doorway. Tessa nodded. "I'll, uh . . . I'll walk him out, Carol, okay? I'm sorry I can't stay but I, uh . . . I got to go help Beth with something." She told her and Carol nodded as Tessa gave him a reassuring smile and got to her feet, where she walked with Patrick to the doorway. Carol began again when they were walking towards the exit. "I hope you start feeling better soon -"

Tessa abruptly stopped when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye and behind one of the bookcases. Eyebrows furrowing in concern, she gently pushed Patrick through the door before nodding at Michonne to wait a minute. She slowly moved to peer around the bookcase and when she saw Carl standing there, previously eavesdropping but who was now gazing at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't rightly decipher, she shook her head.

"Carl, please . . . don't tell your father." She begged him and Carl shook his head and moved for the doorway. Carol immediately noticed and she stiffened but relaxed when Tessa mouthed to her that she would handle it, before exiting the library.

But first, she had something else to do . . .

* * *

"_Well_? The suspense is about to kill me – what did it say?"

Tessa grinned in relief at Michonne as she exited the bathroom stall, Michonne immediately moving to share her grin. "It was negative – thank _God_!" She told her and Michonne nodded as they turned around and left the bathroom, where they walked down the hall to the cellblocks.

"Yeah, you _better_ be thanking God! The last thing you need is another one running around!" She gave her a slightly amused look. "And besides, I thought Daryl said he didn't want anymore?"

Tessa nodded in agreement but let out a laugh. "Yeah, he doesn't. But just because he's told me he's fine with just Danny and Aayla – something I'm perfectly fine with too - that does not mean he's jumping for us to stop having sex. And let's face it, Michonne, even if he _did _say let's stop - we are _not_ going to stop anytime soon and considering that condoms aren't exactly a commodity anymore, there's bound to be some scares – with everyone!" Michonne glanced at her, one of her eyebrows arching in amusement.

"I thought you guys had other ways to prevent it?" She asked and Tessa gave a laugh and nodded as she buried one of her hands in her front pockets.

"Yeah we do, but sometimes we just . . . get carried away in the moment and he forgets. Like last time – the time I thought . . . I thought made me, you know?" Michonne nodded and she sighed "We just got carried away and before I knew it – _boom_ . . . too late." Michonne grinned and laughed at that as a grin and a laugh that Tessa couldn't help but join in on, graced her features.

"Yeah, I bet you two got carried away! Maybe a little bit _too _carried away!"

Tessa continued to grin as she rolled her eyes and pushed her friend good-naturedly. They continued walking down the hall, the both of them still grinning and laughing, however, they came to an immediate stop when they turned a corner and Tessa nearly collided into the one person she never wanted to see but always seemed to have the bad luck to.

"Jesus Christ, Sam, watch it!"

"Yeesh, sorry, Tess! I didn't see you there!" He told her as she immediately backed off him, smoothing down her clothing as she did so. His eyebrows furrowed and he cocked his head a little as he pointed at her hands. "What's, uh . . . what's that?"

Tessa looked down to where he was pointing and it was then that she realized the little stick of plastic was still in her hands – she hadn't bothered to throw it away before leaving the bathroom and even though she had a reason for that, she didn't exactly feel like explaining herself to holier-than-thou Sam. But eventually, she gave a little laugh and a shrug. "It's a, uh . . . it's a pregnancy test, Sam. You should know what a pregnancy test looks like."

He gave a little laugh then. "You're right, I do – we went through enough of them when we were trying, didn't we?" He asked before giving a shrug and heaving a sigh, a small, half-smile on his face. "Well? Is there a cause for celebration? Is Daryl gonna be a daddy again?" He asked and she turned her eyes up to his where she shook her head.

"No. I was mistaken – it was negative."

"Well thank God, right?" He spoke without thinking and she immediately recoiled in slight surprise.

"Excuse me?"

He shook his head in exasperation. "You know what I meant, Tess!" She shook her head in turn.

"No, Sam, I don't know what you meant. So would you mind elaborating just a tad?"

Sam heaved a sigh as he glanced away before turning his eyes back onto her, his voice lowering as well. "I just meant that the twins are only eight months old. The last thing you need right now is to be pregnant again. So thank God it was negative, right?" Tessa's jaw hardened as she glanced at Michonne still standing beside her, immediately taking notice of how tensely her friend was standing.

"Well you know what they say, Sam - it's super-duper easy to get pregnant the first year after you give birth because of hormones." She told him and Sam nodded, his eyes becoming cold.

"Is that why we never got pregnant Tess? Because we waited until Ethan was one before we started having sex?" Her jaw hardened again.

"There was a reason for that, Sam. And you know why we never got pregnant – I _couldn't _get pregnant with you!" She told him, her voice dangerously quiet, and Sam gave a laughed and nodded as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked down at the floor.

"Oh yeah, I know – _believe _me, I know. And I was there when the doctor told you our chances of getting pregnant were slim to none, Tess. I'm glad you're with a man now that can beat those odds, though." He told her giving a shrug and changing the subject before she could reply. "So, speaking of Ethan how is he?" She nodded.

"He's well – been well for a year now, in fact. Been thriving too – he's almost considered as integral a member of this group as Daryl is," She smiled a tight smile. "He's like his daddy in every way, Sam. Daryl couldn't be prouder of him."

"'Cause, well, ya know, he refuses to talk to me, so I don't know anything about him anymore."

Tessa shook her head. "Don't take it personally, Sam. He and Daryl have become really close – almost to the level of best friends. He has his daddy now and he ain't gonna change that, especially for you."

Sam gave a nod. "Well, see now, that's funny, Tess!" He replied with a stuff nod. "'Cause the last time I checked, Daryl didn't raise him."

Tessa nodded. "Well, the last time _I_ cared to remember, Sam, Daryl is his biological father, not you. Daryl made him, we conceived him . . . you helped raise him, yes, but it's _Daryl_ that he calls 'deddy' now, something he never once called you. It's _Daryl _that takes him hunting and patrols with him and hears him out whenever he has something to say. It's _Daryl _that treats him like a son he can proud of, not – what did you call him when you figured out he would never call you 'deddy'? Oh yeah - your 'stepson'." She shook her head, a gleam flickering across her eyes. "And besides, he's fourteen, almost fifteen-years-old, Sam. If my son doesn't want to talk to you, then I can't make him. And considering he's about as stubborn as Daryl is, I don't think anyone could change his mind in this regard."

Sam nodded, his eyes holding hers and when he finally spoke, his voice was quiet – so quiet, that Michonne had to strain to hear him. "How long did it take for you to fuck him, Tessa?"

Tessa adopted a look of shock on her face. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. How long did you wait after you were reunited with him, before you were fucking him again?" He gave a stiff, slightly angry shrug. "Hell, I know it wasn't long 'cause I can do the math in my head based on how old the twins are!" She shook her head, a look of incredulity appearing on her face.

"Now, how in the Hell is that any of your business?" She snapped, her tone quickly rising with anger, and he gave a laugh.

"Tessa, I almost _died _in order to allow you and Ethan to escape – to make sure that my wife and the boy I considered my son, were _safe_! The least you could have done was give me a period of mourning – if not as your husband, then as a friend who was there for you when no one else was – instead of immediately jumping into bed and fucking your ex fiancé!" He shook his head and gave a laugh that was accompanied by a half-smile. "And Hell, from what I've seen since I got here, it's a wonder you _aren't _pregnant with how much sleeping around you do -!"

Michonne's body tensed then. "Oh _fuck_, Tess!"

"_What_ tha fuck did ya jus' say to her?"

Tessa's eyes grew wide when Daryl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his eyes beyond angry as he made a determined path towards him. Sam's eyes grew wide as well, and Michonne saw a flicker of fear in the depths of his eyes as Tessa immediately moved to insert herself in-between them.

"Daryl, baby, please calm down -!"

"No, Tess, I want to know what this fucker said 'bout ya, 'cause I don' think I heard him correctly!" He interrupted her, his voice growing louder and louder the more his body filled with anger. Her hands planted themselves on his chest and that one movement calmed him down significantly but it also meant that he was even more like a lit fuse now. If she left her spot in front of him for any reason then, and he'd be launching himself at Sam like a speeding bullet.

Sam shook his head. "Look, we were just talking, it wasn't nothing -"

"Sleepin' around, did I hear ya say tha' was what she was doin'?" He interrupted him before he shook his head and gave a sarcastic laugh. "Look, asshole, I'm sorry ya butt hurt tha' she's with me now, but it's kinda hard for her to sleep around when she's only been sleepin' with one man since she left Atlanta!"

Sam gave a snort of a laugh then. "Yeah, well, she's fucking you enough for twenty guys, so -"

"Oh_, ya piece of fuckin' shit_!"

"DARYL – _stop it_!"

"Tessa, Goddammit – here, Michonne, take her!"

It had been the first time Daryl had ever shoved her out of the way in order to get to someone and Tessa stumbled into her friend's arms, who hastily caught her before she could go tumbling elsewhere. Tessa immediately spun around, right when Daryl grabbed Sam by the scruff of his shirt, lifted him up, and then _slammed _him into the nearby wall.

"_Daryl_ -!"

"Ya gonna regret openin' ya mouth when ya drinkin' through a straw tonight, ya motherless, poxy _bastard_!"

"What the Hell is going on here? Tessa, what is going on?"

"Thank God, Rick – its Daryl, he's -!"

"Rick, get _offa _me!"

"Daryl – Daryl, _stop _it now! Oh shit – Tyrese, hurry and get his other arm!"

Rick and Tyrese couldn't help but release grunts of exertion as they eventually managed to yank Daryl off of Sam. Kicking and trying his damndest to launch himself out of their arms so that he could run back to him and finish what he started, Sam remained there against the wall a moment longer, desperately trying to catch his breath as Daryl struggled in the strong grip of the two men. For a minute as well, Tessa also found herself wondering due to the look in his eye, if Sam would need a change of underwear too.

But the look quickly disappeared as he shook his head. "Hope you enjoy every little milestone of the twins, Daryl, 'cause I have every single one of Ethan's. His first steps, his first word, his first -"

A look of pure, unadulterated rage appeared in his eyes then. "Oh-_hooooooo_, ya askin' for it, ain' ya asshole? Well, I promise ya tha' ya gonna _get it -_ I swear to _God_ ya will, in fact!" Daryl snarled in reply, interrupting him as well, and Tessa slowly shook her head as gave Sam a look of disgust.

"Let him go, Rick." She ordered, calmly and levelly, and Rick gave her a look of bewilderment that suggested she had just grown two more heads to join the one she already had.

"Tessa, are you _insane_?" He asked and she shook her head as she stepped closer to Sam, her eyes never leaving his.

"No, I'm not, 'cause I just noticed something. It seems little Sammy here, only has his bravery when the angry wolf isn't gunning for his throat. So go ahead Rick - let Daryl go before he hurts himself or one of you."

Rick and Tyrese shared a slightly apprehensive look then before reluctantly letting their friend go. Breathing hard, Daryl yanked himself out of their grip before they could fully release him, and immediately began pacing the floor between them and Tessa like an enraged, caged beast, his eyes burning holes of pure hatred into Sam the entire time. Tessa's face hardened.

"So go ahead, Sam . . . say something else, now – I dare you. Or do you only have a mouth when the wolf is leashed?"

"Fuck tha', Tess – fuck _him_!" Daryl snapped before hocking a great wad of spit onto the floor. He then pointed a finger at Sam, anger causing every fiber in his body to practically hum with energy. "Ya better sleep with one eye open, fucker, 'cause I swear to God I'm goin' to come for ya one of these nights! Ya don' believe me – _keep _this yella-bellied shit up! Oh, but don' worry!" He promised him with a laugh as he crossed the distance between them in two great big strides, Tessa immediately stepping in-between them again. This time, Daryl didn't shove her aside, but he did get as up in Sam's face as he could with her in-between them. His hands curled possessively around her hips and he brought her back against him as he spoke: "I'll be sure to fuck Tess nice and thorough beforehand, so ya can _smell _her come on meas ya lyin' there, chokin' on ya own yella blood!"

A look of rage speared through Sam eyes but it disappeared as Daryl spun around on his heels and marched off then, rage bellowing off of him like smoke. Tessa turned around to watch him go, her eyes locking with Michonne's anxious eyes briefly before moving on to Rick. "Sam, you might want to make yourself scarce in this cellblock for a couple of days." Rick told him, his voice tense, and Tessa shook her head.

"No . . . no, make that a couple of months, Rick. And not just in this cellblock – that's _period_. With how angry Daryl is at him right now, it won't matter where you guys are," She turned to face him. "He sees you, you're dead, Sam – deader than dead, in fact. It's that cut and dry." Michonne shook her head, her eyes cold and unsympathetic as she gazed at him.

"'Cause ya made one _Hell _of a bad decision bringing up the fact that you raised Ethan in his place, Sam," She told him before shaking his head, her eyes connecting with Tessa's briefly before she moved them back onto him. "That's one Hell of a tender wound with Daryl and you rubbed a shitload of salt in it with that milestone quip."

* * *

"Hey . . . how ya doing, baby?"

Daryl glanced up at Tessa when she entered the guard office later that evening when everything was done for the day, causing everyone to start winding down and return to their cells. A small, sympathetic smile played out on her face as she placed the bag she had been carrying on the nearby table. His lips pursed as he turned his eyes back onto the window he had been gazing expressionlessly out of when she entered, where he gave a terse shrug.

"I'm still angrier than a Goddamn hornet, if tha's what ya askin'." He muttered bitterly, and she bit down on her bottom lip.

"I . . . I have to admit – I haven't seen ya this angry in a long time!" She told him and he nodded, slightly apologetically, and heaved a sigh as she made her way over to him. She sat down behind him on her knees on their bed and he buried his face in his hands as hers immediately began massaging at his shoulders, trying her damndest to work away some of the stress that had quickly built up since that morning. "Damn Daryl, you're more wound up than a Jack-in-the-Box!" She muttered in stark amazement and Daryl let out a sarcastic laugh and nodded.

"Ya think?" He asked before he shook his head. "I don' know why or how it happened Tess, but tha' fucker got to me! He _got to me_!" He shook his head again. "First thing I did when I left ya guys, was go blow off some steam killin' walkers down at tha wall with the others and tha' helped, but not by much. I then went and told Beth that Zach was dead and tha' helped too 'cause tha' kinda depressed me a little, I won' lie!" He shook his head. "And when that proved to not be a surefire cure, I went to see Danny and Aayla, hopin' tha' I could maybe spend some time with 'em speakin' I haven' exactly had time to do tha' much lately, and tha' _did _work Tess – so well, that for an hour or two, my anger was _gone_ – completely and irrevocably gone! But when I left them and-and that father mantle came off, that anger came marching back and . . ." He trailed off then, heaving a sigh as he did so, and Tessa heaved one as well as she wrapped her arms around his chest before resting her chin on his shoulder.

"He got to you when he started talking about Ethan, didn't he?" She asked him, her voice quiet and he stayed silent at that. He stayed silent for so long, in fact, that Tessa eventually nodded, knowing that was the same thing as him actually answering her. "Look, Daryl, Sam might have raised him, but Ethan _never _looked at him as a father while he was growing up – not like he does you now! For the love of God, Ethan practically _worships_ you _and _the ground you walk on! You're his idol – the epitome of a father figure to him," Her eyes softened as he turned his face to her slightly, where she pressed her lips to his cheek before nuzzling him. She felt his hands take hers on his chest and she could feel him relax some. She could also tell that he was listening to her as closely as he probably ever had before, and that put a small smile on her face. "Ethan loves you, Daryl – don't you _dare _doubt it! If you do, you're a fool." She gave him a loving smile then too. "And I've seen you with him and I've seen you with the twins – playing with them and rocking them to sleep and feeding them and Daryl, you are an _amazing _father! I couldn't have asked for my children to have a better one than you."

He gave her a small, thankful smile as he turned his head to face her as he moved to lean back on one hand pressed into the mattress on the other side of her legs. He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers and she allowed him to kiss her for a moment, even brought one of her hands up to skim through his hair, before she suddenly pulled apart from him. He sat there, looking a little annoyed as she got to her feet and moved over to the bag she had placed on the table.

"Oh, don't look so annoyed - we have a couple of things to celebrate!"

"Are ya serious, Tess?" He asked with a brow cocked in shock. "After what happened today, ya honestly think we have somethin' to _celebrate_?"

She rolled her eyes and his eyebrows moved to furrow in slight interest and confusion when she didn't reply and simply held out the bottle of amber gold liquid to him. He took it and immediately, a grin spread across his face. "Bay-_bee_, where _did_ you find a bottle of Maker's Mark?" He asked and she grinned and gave a laugh as she resumed the same place she had been occupying before she moved. Her arm wound around his neck again and he leaned back against her as he observed the bottle in his hand.

"Found it today at the Big Spot. I was amazed to find it too, considering that it had been behind the counter in the liquor store, which was a spot that was very easily overlooked," She told him before moving to place a nibbling kiss on his neck. "Check the date, baby . . ."

A look of interest crossed Daryl's eyes then as he turned the bottle to read the tiny little date engraved _in _the bottle. When he saw it, his mouth opened slightly in shock while his eyebrows rose slightly. She simply smiled. "If I wouldn't have left you, then it would have been our anniversary today . . ." She told him, her voice quiet, and Daryl glanced at her, mouth still slightly agape in shock, before he turned his eyes back onto the bottle.

"Damn, Tess, I don't . . ."

She shook her head. "You don't have to say anything. This is what else we have to celebrate . . ." She told him as she held out the little thin strip of plastic in front of him. He took it and gazed at it for a moment, allowing what was on it to sink in, before he gave a wry laugh and threw it in the wastepaper basket in the corner while shaking his head.

"Lucky us that turned out negative, huh?" He muttered and she nodded and gave a laugh.

"Yeah, tell me about it! Something tells me you're getting too old to be chasing around anymore babies!" She told him and watched as he gave a laugh and a sarcastic yet quiet, 'Tell me about it!' before doing the cap to the bottle.

"Shit's prolly more potent than goat piss, babydoll . . ." He muttered and Tessa continued to grin as he finally got it off. He stared at the bottle for a moment before giving a 'what-the-Hell' shrug and putting his lips to it. He tilted his head back and took a healthy swig - a swig that immediately caused a fit of violent coughing when he took it away. His hand flew to his mouth as he coughed and when he opened his eyes, she could see they were bloodshot, as well as his face becoming as red as a damn tomato. "Fuckin' _Hell_, Tess, tha' shit ain' goat piss – tha's practically _acid_!"

Tessa laughed as she took it from him and carefully set it on the floor at their feet as he gave another dry, slightly pained cough. "Damn, so no tipsy lovemaking tonight?" She asked him and Daryl gave a snort of laughter and shook his head.

"If I drank anymore of tha' babydoll, I'd be so fuckin' shitfaced, I wouldn' even be able to get it up!"

Tessa rolled her eyes. "So truthful, you are, I love it!" She spoke good-naturedly and he grinned as he leaned over and after hooking a hand around her neck, brought her closer to him so that he could kiss her. They kissed for a moment and when they broke apart, he grinned.

"Considerin', tho', tha' we can' celebrate our anniversary by gettin' blissfully tipsy 'cause we'd get so drunk so fast it wouldn' be any fun - what's say we celebrate _not _bein' pregnant by tryin' not to conceive another one?" He asked and Tessa nodded, telling him that was a great idea, as she pulled him closer again, their lips meeting in a considerably hotter kiss than the last one.

"What if I want you to come in me, though?" She asked him when they broke apart, her voice barely above a whisper and Daryl gazed at her for a minute before giving a shrug.

"What's life without a little danger?" He grinned then. "Jus' promise me ya won' be screamin' Sam's name durin', okay?" He asked teasingly, and Tessa gave a violent shudder then as she shook her head.

"No, Daryl, jus' . . . _no – _don' ever bring somethin' like tha' up again!" She told him and he chuckled as he leaned in again.

"Okay, good - jus' checkin' . . ."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so after this last completely AMAZING episode of the Walking Dead, I have got SOOOO many things planned for this season already that I have come to the conclusion that you guys are gonna absolutely love it (Halo, I know you will although you probably have already watched the episode and figured out what I have planned ha ha). As for this chapter, it takes place at the beginning of 'Infected' and lasts till roughly about the middle. So it does deal with the attack and there is ever-so-slight Dessa fluff in the beginning. Not much, but I suppose its there.**

**scoobydoo0811: I actually debated on that in the beginning but I decided against it for some reason. Might happen in later chapters though :)**

**Katara Melody Cullen: Thanks for the review, muchly appreciated :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Thanks, I was kinda going for sweet and I'm glad someone caught that :)**

**MaddyMarie1212: Who says they were mad at him? ;)**

**HaloHunter89: I don't think at this point, that Sam is even going to remotely entertain the idea that he can win back Tess. She has Daryl - the one man that he's never been able to compete with - as well as two babies and, for all intents and purposes, a happy life - a happy life he's never really been able to give her. I don't think he's that big of a dick to want to stop that for her, although your right, his words were mean, especially considering Daryl was restrained. But they were mean towards _Daryl_, not Tess. When it comes to Tess, he's largely a good guy, I think (or he wants to be, anyway and the same goes for Ethan) but with Daryl, there's just so much bad blood there that I think its impossible for them to even hope to get along. And yeah, you know Ethan can sense that tension. As for shitting himself, wouldn't you ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana**

* * *

"_Shit_, Tess . . .!"

"Was that really . . .?"

"Tha' damn amazin'?"

Tessa grinned at Daryl's words as she felt his arm move to wrap loosely around her waist, bringing her even more into his side as she lay there, beside him, half on and half off him. His chest gently moved up and down underneath her along with his breathing, creating a steady rhythm that almost lulled her to sleep. Her hand dangled over the edge of the bed with her fingers wrapped around the glass neck of the half-empty bottle of Maker's Mark. They were pleasantly buzzing but nowhere near being drunk or shitfaced.

"Yeah, considering the fact that you seemed to have it working pretty superbly, you liar!" She grinned and he couldn't help but grin too.

"I didn' lie, Tess! I ain' shitfaced yet, so, knowing tha', I am still perfectly able to get my dick hard – as ya've so recently experienced!"

"Wait – shitfaced, _yet_?" She laughed with a cocked brow in amusement, and he nodded.

"Yup, ya heard me right - _yet_." He echoed good-naturedly as he gently pried the bottle from her fingers before taking another drink. It burned pleasantly going down but the feeling of warmth that hit his stomach and spread quickly throughout his body, creating a languid liquid heat that seemed to spread throughout his entire bloodstream, made him feel wonderfully lazy. He set the bottle on the floor before he turned his head to the side, where he buried his nose in her hair. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply the scent of gardenias that seemed to cling resolutely to every strand of her blue black hair and felt his mind become foggy with both it and the alcoholic warmth that coursed lazily through his body. He felt the tips of her fingers ghost through the light dusting of hair just underneath his belly button, over and over again and he fought the instinct to shudder at the feeling. There was a small indentation in the edge of the white sheet wrapped around them where her fingers hit before they moved back up again.

"Is this better than the barn?" He murmured and immediately felt her tense against him slightly, her fingers coming to an immediate stop.

"Which time?" She asked him and Daryl grinned and gave a laugh.

"Ya know good and well which time I'm talkin' 'bout, Tessa Dixon! It was our first time and our first bottle of Maker's Mark . . . _tha_' time in tha barn . . .!"

"_Oh_!" She replied with a laugh, and he felt her grin against his skin as she nodded. "Oh yeah, this time is infinitely better! But then again, we've had a lot of practice since then, haven't we?"

"We've better. After all, ya've been fuckin' me enough for twenty men lately, ya know it?" He teased her and Tessa rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh as she shifted along him. The tips of her fingers left him then, only for her hand to curl around his side as she hugged herself to him even more.

"Sam's so full of shit, I swear to God he is!" She muttered bitterly and a little angrily, and he heaved a sigh.

"Fucker's in for it, I swear he is!" He told her before she felt him shake his head. "Good Lord, Tess, I don' even think I hated ma old man more than I hate him!"

"And that's saying something, too!" She grinned and he nodded.

"Tell me about it . . ." He muttered before he shifted his head ever-so-slightly so that he could gaze down at her. "Ya know, I don' mean to kill our buzz or anythin' -"

"You don't have to worry about that; we still have plenty more liquor to go." She told him in reference to the bottle sitting on the floor beside them and he nodded, in agreement or understanding, she didn't know, but he continued on nonetheless.

"I heard ya guys talkin' before I came up on ya and I heard him say tha' . . . ya guys tried for a kid a little after Ethan was born?" He asked her, his voice quiet and coming out strangely gentle, and she swallowed hard before nodding.

"Yeah . . . it was hard and mentally exhausting and in the end, it turned out all the heartache was for nothing."

His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion then. "How so?"

"Well, it was already difficult for me to get pregnant to begin with, so it didn't help matters when they later found out after two or three false alarms, that Sam's sperm count wasn't exactly the highest in the world. It would have been difficult but possible for me to have a baby if his count had been normal and quite easy if he was higher than average – lookin' at you now, Mr. Dixon!" She spoke and he grinned but didn't say anything as she continued on: "But considering that it was lower than average, that put us in the damn near impossible range."

"So basically, our kids are walkin', talkin' reminders to him of his failure as a man!" He replied slowly, his voice dripping ever-so-slightly in gleeful amusement and she nodded and let out a low chuckle.

"I wouldn't have put it _that_ way, but basically, yeah. You've always been the one man that he's never been able to compete with, Daryl – I've made that apparent since the first day we were reunited at the quarry and the entire thirteen years me and Sam were together. And all while Ethan was growing up, we thought the pregnancy had been a fluke – that _you_ made a shot and somehow didn't hit a blank," She shook her head. "But then we had the twins _pretty _damn easily after being reunited, I figured that knocked Ethan being a 'fluke' out of the equation – in that way, I mean. I didn't _expect_ to be pregnant with him, Daryl, so he was a surprise in that sense."

"While we're already on this topic, ya ain' . . ." He trailed off and stayed silent for a minute before gesturing to the trashcan across the way. She followed his gaze and immediately knew what he was going to say before he even said it. "Ya ain' worried 'bout havin' another one?"

"If it happens, it happens." She told him and he let out a laugh at the simple tone of her voice before stiffly nodding.

"Tess, ya know I love ya – ya know I love Ethan and our twins with every fiber of ma bein', but babydoll, I don' think I can handle another one – not _now_, anyway!" He told her as she moved to prop herself on her elbow beside him before flipping her hair out of her face and turning to gaze at him. Her face was impassive yet stern as her eyes locked with his.

"Daryl, we are not going to stop having sex anytime soon, you know that as well as I do. And then taking in the fact that you _continue_ to bottom out in me more times than you pull out for various reasons, I just think we need to be adults about this and acknowledge the fact that we either need to be more careful or accept the fact that if it happens, it happens." She shook her head and heaved a sigh. "You know I love Danny and Aayla just as much as you do, and I completely understand how you don't want another kid right now, Daryl, because I don't either! So understandably, I'm not exactly rearing to get pregnant again – it doesn't exactly end in a fun way for me!" She told him before giving a roll of her eyes. "But then I have to remember your sneaky fuckin' track record and then I realize that it's never exactly been hard for us to get pregnant – consciously or not and I think that maybe . . ." She gave a half shrug as she lowered her eyes to his chest, where one of her fingers was currently outlining the one tattoo located there. "Maybe it couldn't hurt to be more careful, you know?"

He gave her a half skeptical, half-interested look. "Be careful, how? 'Cause usable condoms ain' exactly easy to come by anymore and I hate to tell ya, babydoll, but even pullin' out ain' a hundred proof!" She nodded and opened her mouth to speak but the baby monitor sitting on the table beside their bed suddenly went off, immediately filling the room with one of the twins' cries. The both of them then heaved a sigh as Tessa pushed herself off of him.

"Don't worry, I'll go this time. We'll continue this when I get back, okay?" She asked him and Daryl silently nodded as he moved to prop himself on his elbows on the bed. He watched as she got dressed and when he saw the look she threw him over her shoulder, he let out a sound of sarcastic disbelief and rolled his eyes.

"What – I can't watch ya get dressed now?" He asked, his voice a little bit more on edge than he had intended, and Tessa grinned and laughed as she finished buttoning up her jeans before moving over to him. Her hands grasped his shoulders and she planted a sweet, loving kiss on his lips before breaking apart.

"Of course you can, baby, I'm just teasing you," She gave him a wink before she straightened up and pulled on a shirt. "Lighten up, will ya?"

He gave another roll of his eyes before he nodded towards the door. "Easy for ya to say – now go on and see what's wrong with one of ma kids. I'll be here . . . prolly tryin' to get some shut eye considerin' we didn' at all tonight!" He told her and she gave a laugh and pressed one more kiss to his lips before she shook her head as she left the room then, where she made her hurried way down the stairs towards the children's cellblock. Rick was already there, gently bouncing a still tired Judith up and down on his hip, and he smiled when he saw her. She gave him an apologetic smile in return.

"I'm sorry, I came as soon as we heard the baby monitor – who is it tonight?"

"Danny. Aayla's still fast asleep." He told her, his voice hushed, and Tessa let out a huff of relief.

"Thank God! If it was Aayla, we'd have to get Daryl down here and quite frankly, I don't think he's exactly in a daddy mood right now!" She told him with a wry laugh and he furrowed his brows in slight interest as he followed her into the cellblock. He watched for a minute as she picked up the crying Danny from his crib, lovingly shushing him as she did so before speaking.

"Is there anything wrong?" He asked, knowing it wasn't exactly a normal thing for Daryl _not _to constantly be in 'daddy mode' with the twins, and she shook her head.

"No, it's nothing bad – nothing like that, we just . . ." She gave a shrug. "We were in the middle of a conversation before I came down here and it had the potential to get pretty heated. Actually, Danny woke up right in the nick of time - yes he did!" She told him before placing a bottle in the heater and pressing a kiss to his forehead. He was sniffling but had stopped crying and was now lying in her arms with his head on her shoulder, eyes roving everywhere. Rick smiled.

"You guys hardly fight at all and the times you did in the past, things didn't exactly end well. So excuse me if whenever I hear that you guys _do _fight, I get a little nervous." He chuckled and she smiled as a small 'ding' filled the air, letting them know that the bottle was properly heated. Tessa picked it up and after situating him ever-so-slightly, brought it towards him, where he immediately latched onto the rubber nipple.

"Yeah well, we avoid fights because of that same logic," She told him before giving him a small smile. "So you don't have to worry." She assured him, and he nodded and said a quiet, slightly grateful, 'awesome' before moving to the alarm clock sitting on the nearby table, where he took a look at it.

"Where's Michonne?" She asked suddenly, and he nodded in the direction of one of the cells on the upper level.

"Still up in bed." He replied and she arched an amused brow, one that Rick couldn't help but roll his eyes at.

"I wish you wouldn't look at me that way whenever me and Michonne are brought up!" He told her and she let out a laugh.

"Why shouldn't I? I think it's great, Rick, I really do. You're like Daryl's brother and she's one of my best friends and well on my way to becoming like a sister like Maggie is, so . . ." She shrugged. "You were bound to move on eventually after Lori and I'm glad it was her."

They stopped when they saw Beth walking towards them and Rick gave her a smile as she took Judith from him. He gestured for Tessa to hold that thought just a moment longer as the alarm clock went off. He cut it off before moving in the direction of Carl's cell. He poked his head inside the darkened space and Tessa's eyes immediately flickered to the darkened cell that Ethan and Wren shared. Daryl would get Ethan up when he did, which would inadvertently wake up Wren as well.

"Me and Carl's got some work out to do in the garden and not-to-mention Michonne's gonna be making a run this morning to. Talk to her if you need anything, okay?" He asked her and Tessa gave him a thankful smile and nodded.

"Don't worry I will." She told him and Rick grinned and leaned in slightly.

"Oh and by the way: I don't think I've every thanked you for playing matchmaker." He told her and Tessa immediately grinned as she patted him on the shoulder.

"It's what I do with my friends, Rick – it's what I do."

* * *

When Tessa first heard the gunshots, her heart immediately froze in her chest. She dropped the bottle she was holding and quickly moved to hold Danny closer and tighter to her than she normally would. There had been two gunshots in quick succession, but they had dropped off as quickly as they had come. However, that did not stop everyone in the cellblock from rousing from their sleep. Ethan fell out of his and Wren's cell while quickly pulling a shirt on and she heard the door to the Guard Office bang open as well as Daryl stumbled out, pulling on his boots and carrying his crossbow.

"What happened?" He quickly asked as he jogged down the stairs towards them, and Tessa shared a stricken look with Beth before numbly shaking her head.

"W-we don't know! We were standing here, tending to the babies and all of a sudden, we heard the gunshots – sounded like they came from D, too. Your guess is as good as ours, though." She told him and Daryl nodded before he turned his eyes onto Ethan standing beside Wren, where he nodded again. Ethan returned the nod back before he ducked into the cell and grabbed up his rifle. Daryl turned his eyes back onto Tessa, where he planted a light kiss on her lips. "We're gonna go check it out, okay? Ya and Beth stay here with tha twins and Judith, okay? Make sure you lock tha door behind us – me and Sasha will lock the tombs when we go out," He told her, his eyes flickering to the African American woman as she jogged past him towards the common room, gun in her hand.

"Be careful – we don't know what it is!" She told him and he nodded and hugged her tightly before running off after Sasha, Ethan hot on his father's heels. They heard the door to the tombs clang shot and lock and when that happened, Beth and Wren gave Tessa stricken looks before Tessa handed Danny off to Wren and then ran in the direction of the gate, where she turned the key. False alarm or real threat – Tessa wasn't about to take that chance.

* * *

"Tess, come quick – I need your help!"

Tessa could only numbly nod her head as Carol grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the crying kid she had been kneeling in front of comforting, and into a nearby darkened cell. The whole thing had been a walker attack and while Rick and Daryl were trying their hardest to figure out how _exactly _the whole thing had started, they could also not ignore how many people they had lost. There had been too many to count – men, women and children all – and she could tell by the green looks on some people's faces, that this might have been the first time they had been witness to how badly walker's tear apart their prey, let alone had been in the midst of an attack!

"Carol, what are you -!"

"H-hey, Tess!"

Tessa's face immediately paled when she saw Ryan Samuels lying there in the bunk, walker bite on his arm. She swallowed hard and nodded. "W-what do you need me to do?" She asked and Carol shook her head as they both turned their gazes on her.

"The arm isn't his only bite, Tess. He's bitten on the back of the neck too." She told her and Tessa nodded, her lips pursing as she did so.

"So amputation is a no go." She spoke and Carol nodded.

"Exactly."

Tessa glanced at her and shrugged as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So what exactly do you want me to do?"

Carol mournfully shook her head. "He's dying, Tess – he's not going to last much longer. We need to get Lizzie and Mika in here so that they can say their goodbyes." She told her and Tessa nodded in agreement as she gestured for her to wait with Ryan in the cell as she went and quickly hunted down the two girls. Craning to look in various cells and eyes quickly sweeping the crowd of people in her quest to find the two little blonde girls, she gasped when she felt a firm hand curl around her elbow and spin her around to face whoever the hand belonged to. When she saw it was simply Daryl, though, she let out a breath of relief and threw her arms around him in a relieved hug. He hugged her back tightly for a moment before they broke apart.

"Where's Ethan?"

"Helpin' Glenn finish off anyone who got bit but hasn' turned yet. How are tha twins?"

Tessa nodded. "They're with Beth and Wren over in C – safe and sound. I left them there when Carol and Karen came and got me and said they needed my help in this block," She then gestured to the cell she had recently left. "Ryan got bit – I'm going to go find Lizzie and Mika so that they can say their goodbyes." She told him and he swallowed hard and nodded.

"Okay, jus' checkin'. Shame though . . . Ryan was a good man . . ." He told her and she nodded before shooting her a relieved smile on his own. "Sorry for startlin' ya too, I jus' had to make sure ya guys were safe." He told her and she smiled a small smile.

"No its fine – I'm glad you came to find me, in fact. Have you figured anything out?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Me, Rick and Glenn found Patrick in one of the cells. We didn' find any bites on him or anythin' like tha', so he prolly started it somehow. We don't know how, though, but tha Doc's gonna take a look at him as soon as possible. We're bringin' it to the council later this afternoon." He told her and she nodded as she put her hands to her face.

"Oh, poor Patrick – he didn't deserve that! He said he felt sick yesterday afternoon at story-time, but me and Carol didn't think anything of it – we thought the food hadn't settled on his stomach right or something like that." She told him and Daryl nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I know, right? Poor everyone - but look, I got to get back to it, okay? Last time I saw 'em, the girls were outside with everyone else. Check there?" Tessa gave him a nod and a thankful look before he moved to plant a kiss on her cheek before moving off, his crossbow in his hands. She continued on herself and she indeed found the terrified girls milling around outside with the rest of the frightened crowd and issued them inside with gentle words and soft touches. And when they finally entered the cell, Carol's sympathetic eyes meeting them, she stepped aside as they approached their quickly dying father, tears appearing in their eyes.

"We-we need to go get Dr. S!" Mika immediately spoke up and Tessa gave her a sympathetic look as well as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head.

"He's already been bit, honey. There's nothing that Dr. S can do."

They descended into silence then, Tessa and Carol not saying anything as Ryan spoke a few last words to his daughters before falling completely silent and still. They knew he was dead with Lizzie reached out and upon taking his hand, began shaking it and calling 'dad!'. The two women shared a look and Tessa nodded as she gently took ahold of the two girls and attempted to pull them from the cell, Carol following, shushing them and telling them that what she had to do she had to do quickly and that it was something they _had _to do.

"Wait outside with Tessa, okay?" She told them before turning around, withdrawing her knife as she did so. Lizzie quickly grabbed ahold of her arm, however, and when Carol turned around to face her, she shook her head.

"No, let me do it." She told her and as Mika tearfully shook her head, she stepped back into Tessa's arms, who held her close as Lizzie remained standing there, gaze locked on Carol's.

"Are you sure?" Carol asked and Lizzie nodded.

"Yeah – you and Mrs. Tess taught us, remember?" She told her and Carol shared a slightly uneasy look with Tessa before handing her the knife and gently pushing her towards her father.

"Okay, but you have to do it now and quick, before he changes, okay?" She told her and Lizzie nodded as she stood there and gazed down at him, the knife in her hand. "Remember what me and Tess showed you."

Lizzie nodded but the longer she stood there and gazed down at her father, trying to build up the courage to do it, the faster she lost that nerve. Eventually, she shook her head and began whimpering as she backed away, the knife falling from her hands to the floor with a clatter and Carol quickly took her by the arms and turned her around to face her, where she shook her head. "It's okay, Lizzie – it's okay! You don't have to do it – we can!" She told her while nodding to her and Tessa and Lizzie nodded, her gazed flickering between the two of them before she took her sister's hand and pulled her from the cell, trying her damndest not to allow her tears be shown to them. They heard the girl's tears come from outside when the wet 'thunk' of Carol's knife disappearing into Ryan Samuels' head finally reached them and Tessa heaved a sigh as Carol glanced at her, her eyes mournful as she wiped off the blade on her pants before sheathing it. They stood there and gazed at him for a moment; the only sounds that filled their ears were the cries and sobs that echoed throughout the block.

Finally, Carol spoke and when she did, it was a question that Tessa did not expect to hear from her. "Would you ever be able to do that to Daryl, if you and him were in Lizzie and Ryan's places?" Carol asked her as tears appeared in her eyes and Tessa swallowed hard as she shook her head.

"No . . . he already decided what would happen if it came to that. He told me that if he didn't or if he couldn't pull the trigger himself, then he'd want Ethan or Rick to do it, not me."

Carol turned an interested gaze onto her. "Why?"

Tessa swallowed hard as she turned her eyes onto her. "'Cause he's smart enough to know that if I had to do it, Carol, then I'd turn that knife or that gun on myself afterwards."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I haven't updated, been having some problems at home I've been having to deal with. But anyway, this chapter is finally out and so expect the next one in the next couple of days. This chapter jumps around a little bit but does have some bonding time with the twins, which I am really excited about because they are at that age to where I can start playing around with their personalities a little bit, as well as a little heart-to-heart scene with Sam. Hope you guys enjoy :)**

**MaddyMarie1212: I actually can't say too much because that would be giving away something I have planned for later, but yeah, I kinda agree. Its just the fact that they would have to go out to find the pill and like everything, the pill is a finite resource. Simply put, after six months (which are six pill packs) it simply doesn't sound that realistic that she would be able to use the pill.**

**HaloHunter89: Don't worry, Tessa is not an arsonist nor a psycho LOL. I don't think I'm going to have TOO much to do with Sam this season, he's just someone I can throw around whenever Daryl needs a chew-toy (ouch, I know! LOL)**

**DarylDixon'sLover and NanamiYatsumaki: Thanks for liking and reviewing guys - hope you continue to do so :)**

**PS: Sorry for the little bit longer than normal chapter - I didn't want to cut anything :(**

* * *

"Patrick was fine yesterday and he ended up dying overnight."

Everyone seated around the round table in the library later that afternoon when everything had calmed down, remained silent as Carol spoke. Tessa sat beside Daryl, hand tightly grasping his and he glanced at her as Ethan shifted closer to him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Sasha sat on Tessa's other side, with Glenn and Hershel sitting across from them, Hershel's face as grave as they had ever seen it.

"Two people died that quick?" She added and Tessa swallowed hard and glanced at everyone present.

"We have to separate everyone who's been exposed. It's the only logical thing we can do in the hopes of saving the whole group." Daryl nodded in agreement.

"Tha'd make everyone in tha' cellblock, easy." He spoke before glancing at Tessa. He saw her swallow hard again and her hand tightened slightly on his. "Tha's all of us . . . maybe more." Hershel heaved a sigh.

"We know this sickness can be lethal. We don't know how easily it is spread, though," He gazed at Tessa and Carol. "You two were possibly the last ones who saw him alive. Is anyone else showing symptoms similar to what Patrick had been showing?"

"We can't just wait and see, though." Carol replied, her voice going quiet, and Tessa nodded in agreement.

"I agree. We can't allow this spread to the children and the elderly and . . . and the twins and Judith. They are the ones most vulnerable right now – we need to make sure they are taken care of."

"And it isn't just the illness we need to worry about, too," Carol added. "When people die, unless they suffer a trauma to the head, they become a threat." Hershel nodded.

"Tessa is right – we need a place for them to go – somewhere safe. They can't stay in D – we can't risk going in there and cleaning it out." He turned his eyes onto Daryl and Ethan then. "Does one of you two have any ideas?" Ethan nodded as he ran his fingers over his lips.

"There's cellblock A," He told him, his voice quiet as well. "It's been clear for a while now – me and Glenn and Maggie did it." He nodded towards him and Glenn nodded in agreement.

"Death Row . . . not sure that's much of an upgrade, but we'll have to take what we can get for now."

"It's clean – tha's an upgrade," Daryl replied as he shifted ever-so-slightly closer to Tessa, their fingers moving to entwine seconds later. "Ya think tha'll work for Doctor S?" He asked Hershel and he nodded.

"I'll help Kale set it up -" He told him but immediately stop when they heard coughing coming from down the hall and getting closer. All of them shared alarmed, uneasy looks as they got to their feet and moved to the door, where they all filed out into the hall, right when Tyrese turned a corner with his hand splayed out on the small of Karen's back.

"You okay?"

"Mmhmm."

"You sure?"

Tyrese and Karen turned around when they heard Carol's voice, and both of their eyebrows furrowed in confusion as they made their way to them. Tessa rolled her eyes at Carol's slightly suspicious tone before she smiled a small smile and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's just . . . you don't sound too good, honey, that's all." She told her and Karen gave her a weak smile and a shrug as she coughed again, the back of her hand immediately moving to cover her mouth. Tessa had nothing against Karen – she didn't have a _reason _to have anything against the other woman. She was a former resident of Woodbury and while some of the Woodbury women had tried to hit on Daryl when they first arrived (flirtations that quickly ended when Tessa reminded them rather succinctly that he was taken) she never had to worry about that with Karen because she had always shown an interest in Tyrese. Actually, Tessa thought they were kind of cute together.

"We're just taking her back to my cell so that she can rest." Tyrese told them with a smile and Hershel replied with an apologetic one of his own.

"Tyrese, I don't think that's such a good idea." He told him and their eyebrows furrowed in confusion again.

"Why, what's going on?" She asked and Tessa glanced at Hershel before stepping forward. She felt herself being jerked back, however, when a callused hand shot forward and wrapped around her wrist. She glanced back, only to see Daryl subtly shake his head behind her, his face grave. No matter what level of friendship she and Karen had developed over the months, it was possible she was infected and Tessa knew as well as he did that for the sake of their children, she would have to be much more careful than she had been.

"We think it's the flu or something," Glenn eventually informed them when Tessa did not. "It's how Patrick died."

"Judith is in that cellblock," Hershel told them, his voice taking on a slightly protective tone as he stepped past Tessa and towards them. "So are Danny and Aayla. All three of them are very vulnerable. Anyone who is sick or who has been exposed needs to stay away."

"It-it killed Patrick?" Karen asked in disbelief as she placed her hands on her hips and Tessa silently nodded.

"Well now she's going to be okay, right? Now that we know what it is, we can treat it, right?" Tyrese asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and Hershel shook his head.

"It's not that simple, but don't worry, we'll figure this out. Until then, though, we should keep you separated," He gazed at Karen as he spoke. "I'll have Kale take a look at you and I'll see what we have in way of medication."

Karen nodded. "David . . . from the Decanter group – he's been coughing too." She told them and Glenn nodded as they all heaved a sigh.

"D-don't worry; I'll go get him," He glanced at Ethan. "Are you coming with?" He asked him and Ethan nodded and moved to go but Daryl's hand immediately shot out and grabbed ahold of his shoulder. Ethan turned an inquiring look onto his father and even though Daryl had no idea what made him lunge out and grab ahold of his son and keep him back, he knew it wasn't nothing. He had a feeling that allowing Ethan to go with Glenn would be a bad thing and his feelings had never steered him wrong before.

He shook his head. "Ethan's comin' with me – we got tha next shift for watch." He told him and Glenn nodded and shrugged as he moved past Tyrese and Karen, where he left the group, Daryl avoiding the curious, inquiring looks that both Tessa and Ethan kept shooting him as Sasha gave them both a slightly apologetic look and stepped forward, where she placed a gentle hand on her older brother's shoulder.

"Come on, I'll help you get settled . . ." She told them as she steered them through the group, and when Tessa gave her a comforting smile and moved to follow, Daryl's hand on Tessa's wrist kept her from doing so when he yanked her backwards again at the last minute. She stumbled back into him and immediately turned an angry glare onto him. She opened her mouth to say something but he shook his head, silently telling her to wait a minute as he stepped forward once they passed.

"I'll call another meeting later, okay?" He told them and Daryl nodded.

"Alright," He nodded to Ethan. "Me and Ethan will get to burin' tha dead ones before we have to report for guard duty."

"Remember – the both of you – to wear gloves and a mask." He told them sternly and the both of them nodded as Hershel left them as well, disappearing around the corner that Glenn and the others had disappeared around seconds earlier, leaving just Carol, Daryl, Ethan and Tessa.

"Are you alright?" Tessa asked her and Carol swallowed heavily.

"I'm worried about Lizzie and Mika, you know?" She told her and Tessa nodded, remembering well the little borderline fiasco in the cell earlier. Carol nodded.

"But they were also around Patrick, remember?" Daryl nodded, his eyes flickering to Tessa's, where he held them for a moment.

"We all were. Some more than others, but there's . . . there's a pretty good chance all of us are infected, we jus' ain' showin' tha signs yet. But Karen and David are goin' to be separated until they feel better." Carol nodded.

"You're right. Are you guys okay?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in concern as she turned her eyes onto Tessa, Ethan and Daryl respectively. They all nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine – thanks for asking." Tessa told her with a grateful smile and Ethan echoed the sentiment as Daryl simply stood there and nodded. He chewed on the inside of his lip as he took Tessa's hand and began pulling her down the corridor.

"I gotta be." He told her simply and they stayed silent as he turned around and led them down the corridor.

"Why did you hold me back, Daryl? Karen's my friend, I should have -!"

"Ya shouldn' have done nothin' in the first place, babydoll." He interrupted her, his voice terse. He shook his head and glanced at her. "She's infected, Tess – we know tha'! She's infected, we have two eight month old babies tha' we are 'round _constantly _and ya _don'_ need to be 'round her 'cause ya _don'_ need to be takin' tha' back to them!" He shook his head as he came to a stop, Tessa and Ethan stopping with him. He adopted a slightly sad look in his eyes as he turned to face her. "Look, I know tha' if she was Michonne or Maggie, I couldn' have stopped ya, and really, I don' think I would have _wanted _to stop ya. But what ya and Karen have, Tess, are nowhere near the friendships tha' ya and Maggie and Michonne have and thus, she is not worth the risk of infection!"

"Deddy's right, momma . . ." Ethan spoke up, his voice quiet as he stepped closer to them. "Right now, you need to be thinking of Danny and Aayla – how easy it would be to infect them." Daryl nodded.

"And if tha infection ran tha' quickly through Patrick, then think how fast it would run through them!" He shook his head then, his eyes becoming scared as he stepped closer to her, where he took her hands. "Tess, I can' lose 'em! I can' lose ma Little Man _or _ma Huntress – I _refuse _to!"

Tessa stood there and gazed at him for a moment before she eventually nodded, feeling the buildup of tears begin in her eyes. She sniffed as she planted her hands on his arms and pulled him closer, where she pressed a kiss to his lips before stepping away and planting an equal one on Ethan's cheek. "You guys heard Hershel – wear masks and gloves while you bury the bodies, okay?"

Ethan and Daryl silently nodded as they began walking down the corridor again towards the doors that led to the outside courtyard and when they parted ways, Tessa heading off in the direction of a Maggie and Carl supporting a limping Michonne in-between them, Daryl and Ethan headed towards the field and the pile of bodies that were already beginning to stack up.

"You think she's going to be okay?" Ethan asked him and Daryl nodded.

"As long as we're there for her when she needs us, she'll be fine. Ya momma's a strong woman, Ethan – she'll survive as long as we do."

* * *

"Glad ya were in there . . ."

Rick gave a small smile as he moved to join Ethan and Daryl in the middle of the field, where the two Dixons, each clad in a pair of gloves and wearing a bandana around their mouth and noses, dug the cubic buttload of graves they would need in order to give all the people who had died, a proper funeral.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't anything without my gun." He told him as he placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the area around them. Ethan came to a stop and leaned on his shovel as Daryl came to a stop too and turned his gaze up to him.

"Nah, ya were . . ." He told him with a nod as he pulled down his bandana, Ethan following suit seconds later. "All this time ya been takin' off . . . maybe thought ya had gotten a little rusty or somethin'. Hell, ya earned it, though! We wouldn' be here without ya!" He told him as he began digging again, thinking 'fuck it' to the mask as he did so. They weren't handling bodies yet and Rick wasn't exactly wearing one either.

"Ah, no, it was all of us." Rick told him as he picked up a shovel and moved over to Ethan. He helped the teenager climb out of the deep grave before turning his eyes back onto Daryl, who had stopped once again.

"Nah, it was ya first," He told him. "If ya could help us figure this out . . ." He trailed off and Rick gave him a look that suggested he had just grown three heads as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Daryl, I've screwed up way too many times!" He told him. "Those calls I had to make – I start down that road again and . . . fuck, Daryl, I almost lost my boy – who we was!" He gave a weak shrug. "Whatever else this place needs, I'm here for it."

"I said ya earned it, but for what it's worth, ya've made mistake, tha's true, but haven' we all since this whole thing began? Fuck, I almost walked out on Tess for good and for fuckin' _Merle_ – thank God I came to ma senses in time, though!" He shook his head. "The only difference between ya and me, Rick, is tha' when I see the shit startin' to hit, ya standin' there with a shovel -"

"Oh _shit_ – deddy!"

Daryl's eyes snapped onto Ethan when he interrupted him, his voice frantic and immediately on edge and it was then that Maggie ran full tilt for them, a wide-eyed, frightened look to her eyes. "Rick – Daryl!" She screamed, and it was then that the three of them caught sight of the walkers standing on the other side of the chainlink fence like they always were doing. This time, however, they were quickly causing the fence to bow down.

"Oh _shit_!" Rick hissed as he took off full tilt towards the fence and the others, Daryl immediately grabbing up his crossbow as him and Ethan took off running after him, the three of them hoping the fence wouldn't fall before they got there.

* * *

"Hey, honey - how you doing?"

Michonne gave Tessa a 'what-do-you-think' look as she entered her cellblock, a grin playing out on her face as she also gave a laugh. Beth shot her a smile as well, one that she returned, before she returned her attention back onto wrapping the ankle that was currently being supported on her lap and Tessa took a seat on the bunk next to her.

"Did you see anything when you came in?" Beth asked her and Michonne heaved a sigh.

"They were just taking out the dead when I came in." She told her, her voice short and slightly cool and Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in slight concern, although that look of concern disappeared when she saw Judith sitting in a corner of the cell with Danny and Aayla playing with a cluster of red plastic cups. She grinned when she saw them and when Danny turned around and saw her sitting there, he immediately grinned as well, his deep blue eyes lighting up in joy.

"Ma-ma; ma-ma!" He spoke up and they all grinned and laughed – even Michonne – as Tessa got to her feet and moved to sit beside them on the floor, where Danny immediately dropped his cup and climbed into her lap. She wrapped her arms around his small body and held him close as she pressed a loving kiss to the dark wealth of sweet-smelling hair covering the top of his head. Aayla smiled at her too but made no move to fight her brother for possession of their mother's lap because, quite simply, Tessa might be their mother, but she was still not Daryl. Instead, she picked up the cup her brother had abandoned and began banging it against the side of her cup like Judith was doing with two others.

"I don't really want to think about it . . ." Beth told them and Michonne turned her eyes up to the ceiling as Tessa began gently rocking her son back and forth, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. What was wrong with Michonne? Why was she acting so damn differently?

Beth smiled. "I'm glad you came back safe, though." She told her and Michonne shook her head as she turned her eyes onto her.

"Stupid . . ." She spoke, halfway in awe and Tessa nodded towards her.

"What makes you say that, honey?" She asked and when Michonne glanced at her, she was surprised to find tears shining in her eyes.

"I was so stupid, Tess! I fell on my ass – they should have just left me out there!"

"Now _that's_ stupid!" Beth told her, her voice bordering on slight admonishment and Michonne turned a slightly surprised look onto the younger woman. "We care about you," Beth continued, her voice quieting and softening slightly.

"They could have gotten hurt."

"Yeah, well, when you care about someone, hurt is kinda part of the package, sweetie." Tessa laughed as she opened her arms and allowed Danny to move out of her arms, where he sat down on the floor again. Aayla gazed at her for a moment before quickly moving to occupy the spot her brother had on her lap seconds before and Tessa grinned as she wrapped her arms around her daughter and moved to press a kiss to her head as well. She supposed in some instances - namely when Daryl wasn't there - allowing her mother to cuddle her wasn't such a bad thing.

"Were there any kids?" Beth asked and Tessa turned her gaze onto Michonne at the young girl's question. She didn't answer and Beth simply continued on: "I mean, you have widows and orphans, but what do you call someone who lost a child?" She asked and while she didn't notice because she was too busy wrapping her ankle, Tessa certainly noticed the sheen of tears that had appeared in Michonne's eyes then, as well as the mournful look. "You think someone would have given that a name -"

"Does she cry like that all the time?" Michonne barked, interrupting Beth mid-sentence, and both Tessa and Beth jumped at her tone. It was true, Judith was starting to cry a little bit from her spot beside Danny, but it was nowhere near crying enough to be of any particular sort of alarming. Tessa's eyebrows furrowed even more as Beth gently set down her foot and got to her feet, where she picked up Judith.

"She's probably wet . . ." Tessa told her and Beth nodded as they turned their attention onto Michonne, who was desperately looking like she was trying to drown out the baby's cries.

"I think . . . I think she senses people's moods . . ." Beth spoke up somewhat uneasily as she left then to go fetch something, leaving Tessa, the twins and Michonne the only people in the cell.

"Honey, are you alright?" Tessa asked in concern and Michonne quickly nodded, although Tessa remained unsure as picked up Danny as well. She balanced both twins on each hip as she gave her a small smile. "Aayla needs changing and I think I'll go help Beth with Danny, okay?" She asked her, knowing that the best thing at that moment was to give her space, and she quickly nodded. She gave her a slightly grateful look and Tessa returned it with a smile as she left the cell then, where she went to go hunt down Beth.

"Hey, where's Wren, do you know?" She asked and Beth glanced at her as she continued changing Judith.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure she's helping daddy and Doctor S get cellblock A ready for quarantine. Why?" Tessa gave a shrug.

"It's just that . . . Michonne's acting weird and I don't know why and I have to go check on Daryl and Ethan. I don't feel right leaving you alone with the three of them, you know? The twins can be a handful if they want to be." She told her as she sat Danny down at the nearby pile of faded blocks before lying Aayla down on the changing table beside Judith.

"Well, they should be getting done any minute now so if you think you can wait, then by all means do that," She gave her a weary smile. "I would certainly appreciate it, I mean."

Tessa stood there for a moment before smiling a small smile and nodding. "Yeah . . . yeah, I can wait honey."

* * *

"Hey can I talk to you?"

Daryl and Ethan, who had been deep in a quiet conversation on the balcony of one of the guard towers later that afternoon, found themselves interrupted when Sam opened the metal door and stepped out onto the balcony. He stood there and watched them for a moment before he spoke and they were subsequently alerted to his presence, and he felt his heart momentarily stop. Arms crossed in front of their chests, one leg each hiked up and resting on the bottom bar of the railing and small smiles and grins on their faces as they talked, not only did they seem like the best of friends, as well as father and son, but they also looked like two twins keeping watch. The only differences between them were their hair color, their skin tone and their ages. Other than that, their mannerisms, their personalities . . . they were virtual mirror images of each other. Their faces were blank, however, when they turned around to face him at his words, although a look of slight hatred appeared in Daryl's eyes, and he swallowed hard. "You mind if we do, Ethan?"

Ethan glanced uneasily from Sam to Daryl and back again. "Well . . . deddy and I were in the middle of talkin' about somethin' important . . ." He replied, his voice coming out as uneasy as the look on his face, as well as quiet. He ended up trailing off when he saw Daryl nod firmly towards the door.

"It's alright, Ethan - go check on ya momma and tha twins, alright? We'll talk some more tonight before lights out." He told him and Ethan nodded as Daryl gave him a reassuring smile and a slap on the shoulder before his son shouldered his rifle and headed towards the metal door, glancing at Sam as he moved past him. The man's jaw hardened slightly as he shoved his hands down in the front pockets of his jeans. Ethan had never called him 'deddy' – not once when he was growing up, even when he was kid and didn't know any better. He supposed he didn't have a right to complain, but . . . didn't he raise the kid?

"Tessa prolly already told ya tha' it's not exactly a smart move bein' around me right now . . ." Daryl told him, his voice hard and Sam nodded. "I'm liable to rip ya head off at any moment."

Sam couldn't ignore the pang of slight fear at his words, but answered nonetheless. "Yeah . . . yeah she has, along with Rick and Michonne but . . . I just wanted to apologize. I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot and our confrontation yesterday didn't exactly help matters. Can we start over?" He asked him as he held out his hand to him. However, he swallowed hard and stiffly reclined the hand when Daryl declined to shake it and instead, simply glared at him. Sam nonetheless gave a small smile, figuring it was a good thing that Daryl hadn't attacked him yet. He gave a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders. "So . . . _you_ are the infamous Daryl Dixon, huh?" He continued with a laugh and a half grin as he moved to take Ethan's place beside him. Daryl gave him a terse nod as he turned his attention back onto the treeline beyond the prison fence, his rifle slung over his shoulder and his crossbow sitting at his feet against his leg.

"I reckon I am. Wha's it to ya?"

Sam sighed as he placed his hands on his hips. "Well, nothing, I guess. Way I see it, though . . . me and Tessa could have had a better life together if it wasn't 'cause of you."

Daryl grinned and let out a laugh as he turned to face him. "So what exactly are ya sayin', Yankee? Ya wanna fight 'bout it or somethin'- is tha' why ya came up here and asked _ma_ son to leave us so tha' ya could say what ya needed to say in private between us?" He gave a scoff of a laugh. "Hell, ya lucky I haven' sent ya screamin' over this railing to the walkers yet! Fuck, it ain' like I've been itchin' to do it since I heard ya come walkin' up those stairs!" He told him, his words blunt and to the point, and Sam gazed at him for a minute before allowing his jaw to harden. He then slowly shook his head. Again, hadn't he been the one who raised Ethan? Who had taught him right from wrong?

"No . . . no I don't reckon I do, 'cause something tells me that you would hand me my ass on a silver platter and not think twice about it." Daryl slowly nodded, his face going expressionless again.

"Ya damn right I would. And don' get me wrong, I'm thankful for wha' ya've done for 'em all those years. Ya raised Ethan – even though I'm tha one who should have done it – and ya did a right good job with it, too. Ya were also there for Tess when she needed ya – when I couldn' be 'cause of ma asshole brother." His eyes became hard then as he pointed at him. "But ya forfeited 'em when ya got separated in Atlanta and the others found 'em and took 'em back to our camp. Ya lost her when we were reunited," He gave a flippant shrug then. "Hell, sorry man, but ya lost her when she found out she was pregnant with ma twins – when she gave birth to _our_ son and _our_ daughter!" He shook his head. "And I'm sorry, but it's tha truth. If ya wanna trade haymakers' right here, right now for it, then I'll do it, but I gotta warn ya – when it comes to Tess and ma family, don' begin to expect me to fight fair!"

Sam silently nodded then and when he spoke a few minutes later, his voice was quiet and slightly thoughtful. "Let me ask you something, though; can I do that?" Daryl nodded.

"Ya've already said some shit tha' ya prolly shouldn' have already, so what's the point of holdin' back now?"

Sam nodded slowly, his eyes locked with Daryl's. "How long were you guys in the same camp together before she was sleeping with you?" He asked him, knowing that with Daryl, it was better if you were blunt and didn't beat around the bush. And like he suspected, Daryl didn't waste any time in his answer. A small smile appeared on his face as he turned back to observing the treeline.

"Ya sure ya wanna know tha', Yankee? Ya might not like tha' answer."

Sam was pretty sure he didn't, but he also knew that he wouldn't get any sleep until he had a straight answer. He knew Ethan wouldn't know and Tessa already practically refused to tell him - that or she always ended up not giving him a straight answer. He knew Daryl would – Daryl would do it out of spite and hatred alone.

He nodded. "Of course I do."

Daryl let out a snort of laughter as he ran his fingers across his lips. "Two and a half days, I think? Wait a minute, let me think . . ." He trailed off and stood there for a minute, thinking and when he spoke again, it was with a confident nod. "She and Ethan arrived around nightfall the first night, then spent the entire day with us the next . . . we arrived at the campsite and me and Ethan went huntin', so we came back, had dinner . . . yeah, it was about two days – two days and half." He gave a shrug. "If ya wanna know, it was kinda a spur-of-the-moment decision . . . we didn't really plan it. And in case ya wonderin', we didn' plan tha twins either. They were _definitely _a shock."

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by the door swinging open, where Tessa, supporting Danny on her hip, appeared, followed closely by Wren holding Aayla, and Ethan. The two of them were grinning and laughing as they held their own private conversation. A tense silence immediately fell between Sam and Daryl, especially when Tessa looked up and after seeing them standing there, came to an immediate stop, the grin disappearing from her face.

They continued to stand there in an awkward silence before Aayla clearly had enough of standing there waiting for someone to hand her to her daddy and started reaching for him herself, letting out little indignant cries as she did so. Daryl immediately grinned and closed the distance between him and Wren, where he took her. "What's tha matter, ma little Huntress? Is no one payin' attention to ya?" He asked her and Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Don't you mean _you _aren't paying attention to her?" She corrected him and Daryl shot her a grin before he bent down and after pressing a loving kiss to Danny's head, pressed one to her lips. She pulled herself away quite suddenly, though her eyes fell onto Sam seconds after.

"W-what are you guys talking about up here?" She asked and Daryl gave a shrug as he began gently bouncing Aayla up and down on his hip.

"Oh nothin' . . . jus' settlin' shit, is all." He told her and Tessa nodded slowly, although her eyes had never left Sam's. He smiled and gestured to Danny.

"I, uh . . . Jesus, they're beautiful, Tess! I mean, I've never really seen them up close before, so . . ." He told her, trailing off when he realize he didn't know how to continue, and Daryl let out a snort of amusement as Tessa smiled a terse smile and nodded.

"Thanks Sam, we think so too."

"What is it; ya wanna get down, is tha' it . . .?"

Sam and Tessa watched then, Ethan and Wren ignoring them as they stood behind them talking, as Daryl squatted down, where he sat Aayla down on her feet. She wobbled terribly, even with her hands in his helping her stay steady, but she didn't seem to care. Her wide eyes took in everything around her and Daryl couldn't help but grin when she allowed herself to get too distracted and fell back against him, letting out a small 'oof' as she did so.

"They already want to walk?" Sam asked in slight shock and Tessa nodded.

"Yeah, although Aayla is a little bit farther along than Danny is. They both wanna stand up, though, if you put them down on the ground and help them. Daryl, he's, uh . . ." She grinned and laughed as they continued to stand there and watch as Daryl turned them so that they were gazing out at the treeline. His arm was wrapped across her small chest, supporting her as she continued to stand there. He pointed to something off in the distance and Tessa gave a sigh as she shook her head, her head falling onto Danny's when his fell onto her shoulder. "He's the atypical go-get-'em dad."

"He's not as close to Danny as he is Aayla, though, is he?" He asked and Tessa gave him a sharp look, one that was immediately kept from going any further as Daryl returned to them, Aayla in his arms.

"I'll trade ya, okay?" He asked her and she nodded as she took Aayla from him and gave him Danny. Immediately Daryl grinned again and moved away as he gently tossed him in the air, Danny's baby-like laughter filling the air around them. Tessa gave the now beet-red Sam a slightly amused arching of her brow.

"You were saying?" She asked him and Sam gave a weak shrug, not knowing what to say to explain himself, and Tessa shook her head. "We have twins, Sam – they are different than having just one baby. Daryl is a magnificent father and he tries his best to spend equal amounts of time with both of them, so he tries not to have a _favorite_. It's Aayla who has the favorite, not him." Sam shook his head and gave her a weak smile.

"Tess, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume like that -!"

"Yeah, well, you did. So drop it, okay?" She told him before turning a soft expression onto Daryl and their son again. Sam noticed the look and immediately felt his heart fall into his stomach. He had underestimated everything – how much Tessa and Daryl loved each other, how much Daryl loved the twins – the family that they had unbelievably managed to form in this twisted, fucked up new world.

And it was then, as the words popped into his head, that he smiled a tight smile and after saying a quiet goodbye to Tess, slipped out of the storybook-book family moment that was no longer his to claim.


	6. Chapter 6

**The update came a little late this time but that's because I am currently going through a very large-scale debate on whether or not I want to put in this part of the fanfic, what I had originally been wanting to put in it since the first moment I saw this episode - "Isolation". I might eventually put it in because it is a pretty damn good plot twist but I'm debating on it for many reasons, mainly because I don't know where the series is going to go and it is a pretty all-encompassing plot twist. So, I don't know, I might put it in, but until I fully decide on whether or not I'm going to, the updates might be pretty erratic, just letting you guys know.**

**This chapter contains the first real lemon of this fanfic, as well as little shedding of tears here and there. Either way, I hope you guys like the chapter :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: You are quite welcome :)**

**HaloHunter89: Okay, what I've been trying to make a point of with Sam, is the fact that while Tessa and Daryl are almost made to be together, that her and Sam are, quite obviously, not. While Daryl (around her, anyway) is smooth and always knows what to say to set the mood or make her feel better or whatever, Sam is, quite obviously, awkward and doesn't know what the Hell to do. I think I'm portraying that quite well, judging from your reviews ;) I also do plan on having a heart-to-heart between Sam and Ethan, which might come next chapter, so yeah, look forward to that :)**

**Luv ya guys bunches!**

**- Nagiana**

* * *

"Rick . . .!"

"Holy shit . . .!"

"And you found them like this?" Rick asked the completely motionless Tyrese, ignoring both Tessa's wide-eyed comment and Daryl's shocked one. Tyrese had his broad back to them, eyes boring holes into the charred, smoking remains of Karen and David lying on the concrete before them and Tessa placed her hands to her mouth as her eyes immediately welled up with tears. Daryl noticed and immediately took her in his arms, shushing her as Rick continued to devote his attention onto the frighteningly still Tyrese.

Finally he turned his head briefly to glance at him before turning them back onto Karen. "I came to see her . . ." He told them, his voice quiet and shaky. "Then I saw the blood on the floor. I followed it and found . . . found _this_! I smelled them before I even came up on them." He shook his head, his lips pursing as his body started trembling ever-so-slightly in anger. "Someone _dragged them out here _and then _set them on fire_! They killed them and then set them on fire! What kind of psycho does that?"

There was silence for a moment before Tyrese suddenly rounded on Rick and took a few angry steps towards him. Rick immediately backed up as Daryl quickly handed Tessa off to Carol standing nearby as he took a hovering stance behind him, ready to yank him off or away from Rick should the need arise. Tessa had calmed down and the tears had dried up (they never lingered long anymore) but she still couldn't look at the bodies – at the body of her friend. Every time she felt her eyes being pulled in that direction, she closed them. She already had too many nightmares – she didn't need another vision to add to the semi-nightly slideshow.

"You're a cop," Tyrese reminded him, forcing himself to keep his voice level and diplomatic when quite clearly all he wanted to do was rage. "You find out who did this and you bring them to me, you understand – _you bring them to me_!"

"Hey, come on man, we'll find out who burned 'em -" Daryl spoke up, his voice calm and soothing as he placed a hand on his shoulder but Tyrese roughly pushed him away, his eyes never once leaving Rick's.

"Do I need to say it again?"

"No," Rick told him as he shook his head and took a step towards him. "No . . . no, I get what you're feeling, I really do. I've been there – you _saw _me there! It's dangerous -!"

"Karen didn't deserve this!" Tyrese interrupted him, his anger quite clearly almost hitting the breaking point. However, Tessa couldn't help but agree with him. The short time she had known her, she had liked Karen. She found her real – none of that phony bullshit that people constantly tried to hand you in this new world. She _hadn't_ deserved what had killed her.

"David didn't deserve it – nobody does!"

"Alright man, come on, tha's enough -!"

"Nah, it ain't!"

"DARYL!"

Carol quickly grabbed ahold of Tessa as Tyrese wheeled around, grabbed Daryl by the scruff of his shirt and then slammed him up against the nearby gate. Rick immediately ran to them, prepared to yank him off, but Daryl held out a hand to him, making him freeze in his tracks. He shot Tessa a comforting look as well and she calmed down, but only slightly. She still retained the wide-eyed look of fright, as well as a tensed body that strained at the strong grip that Carol's had on her arms, but at least she stopped trying to make her way to them.

Daryl turned his eyes onto Tyrese then and immediately, the first thought that popped into his head was that he was currently being held at the throat by a bull seeing red. Hell, he even _looked _like a bull at that moment. Enraged – eyes seeing only the man he was holding in front of him and steam practically billowing out his nose – right at that moment, the man was one _Hell_ of a force to be reckoned with. And quite frankly, he was a force that Daryl had _no _intention of messing with.

"We're on tha same side, man!" Daryl told him, his voice firm and still soothing, like he was talking down an enraged or scared horse ready to either bolt or run you down. An awkward, dangerous silence immediately descended upon them and Tessa felt her heart thrum like a wire in her chest as she watched the scene before her, her hands tightening like a vice on Carol's arms. Right then, Carol's grip on her was the only thing keeping her from either falling to the ground or lunging at them and trying to pull Tyrese off her man.

"Look, I know what you're going through," Rick eventually spoke, trying desperately to diffuse the situation. "We've all lost someone we love -"

"Tyrese please . . . let him go." Tessa interrupted him, her tone pleading as she shook her head. "Whatever rage you're feeling, please, don't take it out on him. He's not the one who deserves it!" She swallowed hard. "Tyrese, Karen would want you to take your anger out on the one who did this to her, _not _the one man in this prison who has _children_ he has to look after, you know that!"

At the soothing sound of Karen's name being released from her lips, Daryl immediately felt Tyrese calm down. His grip on his shirt relaxed considerably and Daryl automatically let out a breath of relief, thankful that Tessa had been there to talk him down.

Rick nodded in agreement. "Look, we all know what you're going through, you just . . . you gotta calm down -"

And of course, Rick had to do the wrong damn thing by touching him.

"You step the _Hell _back from me!" Tyrese roared as he whirled around, shoving him away as he did so, all his anger rushing back with the speed of light. Carol immediately let go of Tessa and she pulled Daryl into her arms as Carol stepped towards the two men, hands outstretched to both of them.

Rick stood there for a minute before shaking his head. "She wouldn't want you to be like this, man -"

_BAM_.

Tessa winced as Tyrese's fist collided roughly with Rick's cheek and the man hit the cold concrete, letting out an 'oof' of pain when his elbows roughly collided with the hard surface. Tessa froze, her eyes growing wide at the scene rapidly unfolding before them and she felt Daryl freeze as well for a moment, the both of them amazed at how quickly things had unraveled. Carol was darting back and forth between the two men screaming for them to stop but yet afraid of getting caught between them.

Rick sat up and Tyrese's fist collided with the other side of his face, making him hit the floor again. It was then that Daryl shook his head. "Oh _Hell _no – _I'm _tha only one tha can punch tha' sumbitch - babydoll, stay here."

"Daryl, what the Hell – DARYL!"

Tessa's eyes grew even wider as she watched as Daryl wrapped his arms around the raging Tyrese and with a firm yank, ripped him off of Rick. He pulled him away with a strength that surprised even him, as Tessa darted over to Rick and slowly helped him to his feet. He told her he was fine with a calm, if not slightly sick sounding voice and she nodded. However, when he then lunged at Tyrese, his fist hitting the side of his jaw with a resounding crack that caused the man to immediately stumble backwards and Daryl to release him and dive out of the way before he got hurt, was when things really took a turn.

"Baby, you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine – Rick!"

Daryl quickly darted out of Tessa's grasp as Rick started pounding his fist into the man's face and showed no signs of stopping.

"Rick -!"

"Get offa me!" He roared and Daryl shook his head as he yanked him off of Tyrese, the man lying there dazed.

"No, Rick, stop! I think he gets tha picture!" Daryl grunted as he wrapped an arm around his collarbone and hefted him to his feet. He stumbled backwards with Rick in his grasp. Good Lord was he going to be sore in the morning!

Rick almost immediately pushed him away and Carol and Tessa continued to stand there, frozen in horror, their hands in front of their mouths. Tessa was so frozen in horror, that she hardly noticed it when she felt Daryl move to stand next to her, where he wrapped a shaking arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest. And it was then, as sobs began to tear forth from Tyrese's chest, and as Rick shakily moved to observe his bloody and busted knuckles, that Tessa moved to bury her face in Daryl's chest, where she began praying fervently that she was still sleeping in bed and that this was all just some horrible, horrible nightmare.

* * *

But of course, it could only get worse.

"It's spread. Everyone from Cellblock D has it now – Sasha, Caleb, and now others." Hershel informed them at that afternoon's council session, a heavy silence descending upon them after he spoke.

"Jesus . . ." Daryl muttered as he pulled Tessa tighter to him, something that she hardly noticed. She was sitting there beside him, his arm around her while hers were crossed in front of her chest. She was still reeling from the drama of that morning and Hershel's news, didn't exactly make things any better.

Good Lord, when had things started going downhill?

"Well, what do we do?" Carol asked and Hershel nodded.

"First things first: Cellblock A is in isolation – quarantine, if you will. Sick people alone are to be in there – like we tried to do with Karen and David."

"Well what tha Hell are we gonna do 'bout tha others?" Daryl asked and Carol gave a shrug.

"We can have Rick look into it. Maybe make a timeline – who was where, when . . . stuff like that. But I think a more important question would be what are we going to do to _stop _this?"

"There is no stopping it," Hershel told her gently. "You get it, the only thing you can do is let it run its course."

"But it kills you." Michonne spoke up and Hershel turned around in his seat to gaze at her.

"The illness doesn't, the symptoms do." He corrected her before his eyes fell on Daryl and then Ethan hovering behind his parents. "We need antibiotics." He told them and while Ethan simply nodded, Daryl gave a weak shrug.

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby and then some!" He told him. "We done cleaned 'em out ages ago."

"That veterinary college down at the technical school – they should have what we need. That's one place that people might not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same we need for people." He told him and Daryl nodded before turning his eyes up to Ethan, who silently nodded in agreement.

"Tha's fifty miles . . ." He reminded him, feeling Tessa stiffen slightly in his arms and Hershel nodded in agreement. His eyes flitted to her but they left when he saw nothing to be alarmed about. "We took a big risk before, we mineaswell take another one. I'll take a group out. Best not waste any more time . . ." He spoke as he got to his feet, swinging his crossbow over his shoulder as he did so, Ethan nodding as he moved to join him. His eyes fell onto Michonne. "You in?"

"Of course." Hershel smiled as he got to his feet as well.

"I know where it is; I'll draw you a map." He told him and Daryl nodded as Tessa finally got to hers.

"When we're out there, it's always tha same. Sooner or later, we run." He told him and Hershel nodded but stopped him as he moved towards the door. His eyes lingered on Tessa's then and her lips pursed as she nodded. Daryl immediately felt his hair stand on end. What the Hell was this about?

"There are other precautions I think we should take," Hershel started out, his eyes moving from all of them. "Tess and I were talking about it and she came up with the idea."

"Came up with what idea?" Daryl asked, his voice gruff and slightly scared, and when he turned his eyes down onto Tessa, he saw her swallow hard.

"The sick have Doctor S taking care of them," She told him. "But what do we do about the children, Daryl? What about the twins and Judith and Wren and the others who aren't sick? What do we do about them?" She asked him before turning to gaze at Hershel, who took over.

"Wouldn't it make sense to separate those who are most vulnerable? We've talked about it - we can use the administration building. They have separate offices, separate rooms . . ." He trailed off and Daryl swallowed hard as he turned his eyes back down onto Tessa.

"Where do ya come in?" He asked her, his voice still gruff and she pursed her lips again as her arms tightened slightly.

"I'm going into the separation with them," She told him and then continued before he could protest. "The sick have Doctor S looking after them; the babies and the children will have no one. Judith will have Beth but she's just a girl, Daryl – she's not a mother! And I don't know about you, but I'm not about to leave the twins alone with someone I don't know and with two girls that I love with all my heart but wouldn't know a thing about taking care of them if something happens," She swallowed hard as she stepped up to him. "Daryl, I need to do this. I'm the only one who can."

Daryl nodded, his movements as stiff as he voice was when he finally spoke. "Yeah, ya might be tha only one who can, but tha' doesn' mean ya _should_!"

* * *

"Daryl, I don't know why you're stressing so bad about this!" She told him later that afternoon as she got her things packed for the quarantine, and Daryl let out a bark of laugh as he continued pacing the same strip of floor in front of her, that he had been for the past five minutes.

"Oh, let me think – maybe it's 'cause as soon as tha three of ya walk through those doors, I'm not gonna be allowed to see ya 'till this is over unless it's through the damn glass window of a door!" He told her, a tad snappishly, before shaking his head. "I'm not gonna be able to hold ya, I'm not gonna be able to hold my _kids_! I won' even be able to touch ya guys!" He swallowed hard and stopped pacing for a minute, where he turned to her, his eyes pained and slightly fearful as he rubbed at his mouth with his fingers. "What if somethin' happens to one of ya, Tess? What if one ya gets sick and die before I get back and I never get to say goodbye? What if . . . what if one of ya gets sick and tha antibiotics don' work? I don' . . . I don' think I'd be able to handle tellin' ya goodbye through a pane of glass!"

Tessa swallowed hard as she reached her hand out to him. However, he sidestepped her easily and she turned a pleading look up to him instead. "Daryl, honey, come -"

"Do ya know how scared I've been since this whole thing started, Tess?" He asked her, interrupting her mid-sentence. He felt tears well up in his eyes but fought tooth and nail to keep them back. "Virus' have a tendency to take ahold of kids and . . . and Danny and Aayla, they're babies, Tess! It'd be so easy for 'em to get sick and then ya would too, 'cause I know ya, Tess, and ya would refuse to leave 'em – ya'd try ya best to take care of 'em! And I don' . . . I don' think I could handle . . ." He shook his head and stopped for a moment, getting himself back under control before he spoke again. "Tess, I would kill anyone who tried to keep me from holdin' ya as ya died. I swear to God, I would kill anyone who tried to hold me back from holdin' one of my twins or Ethan as they died! I would gladly risk gettin' sick if it meant that I would die knowin' tha' ya didn' die alone – tha' I didn' _let _ya die alone."

"Daryl, honey, I haven't been exposed and the twins and Ethan haven't been either," She told him, her voice low and soothing as she stood and moved over to him. She gazed at him pointedly as her hands curled around his sides. "We'll be going into quarantine completely healthy and contamination free – so will Wren and Beth and Judith. And Hershel won't let anyone else in with us, who he is not completely sure hasn't been exposed either, you know that!" She shook her head, her eyes wide and pleading. "I'm not going to die, Daryl – _no one _is going to die! You're going to come back with these meds with Michonne and the others, and everyone is going to get better and then things will return to normal – you _know this_!"

He swallowed hard. "All ya goin' to have in way of protection, is Carl," He told her before shaking his head. "I don' like tha' either, Tess! Kid's got a trigger finger itchier than a fuckin' wool sweater and what if somethin' happens – what if somethin' happens and no one is there to keep him back?" He shook his head. "Tess, I'm not fine with this _at all_!"

"Carl listens to me, Daryl," She told him, her voice firm. "He'll listen to what I say – it's no big deal! And besides, I'll have Beth and Wren with me too – I won't be alone!" She gave him another pleading look. "Look, Daryl, one of us needs to be with the twins, and if you're going out and bringing back the one thing that could save our lives, then I need to be with them as a mother until then!" She shook her head as she reached up and curled a hand around his cheek. "I'm not going to die, Daryl. Danny isn't going to die and Aayla isn't going to die, either, and neither is Ethan. I promise." She told him and Daryl shook his head.

"How can you promise such a thing, Tess?" He asked her as his hand moved up to cup her cheek as well. "How can you dare to promise me like that?"

Tessa swallowed heavily. "Because, right now, Daryl, you're running on nothing _but _promises." She told him before she dragged him down to her, her voice ending in a whisper the split second before his lips met hers. Their kiss was slow and deep, their tongues touching but not fully entering the other's mouths and it took him a minute to respond to what she was asking him to do but when he did, his arms wrapped around her waist and he brought her closer to him in a tight, lingering embrace. God only knew when they would be able to do this again.

Somehow, Tessa managed to clear her mind of anything remotely poisoning, as Daryl gently pressed her backwards until she was lying on the bunk underneath them, his hard, leanly muscular body pressing her so deliciously into the mattress as his legs moved to frame hers between his.

Lips swollen and begging for more, she gazed up him, her still eyes peering up at him, dark from underneath thick black eyelashes and he couldn't help but lean down and kiss her again as he slipped the clothes from her body - the articles moving to fall silently to the floor beside the bunk. Afterwards, he sat up on his knees before her and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to be washed up in the sensation of his hands running reverently over her body. His eyes darkened as they ran along the smooth expanse of olive-colored flesh stretched out before him, shining against the stark white bedsheets beneath them like a beacon. They ran over the smooth swell of her hips (the voluptuous swell that he loved so much) and the smooth plain of her stomach that eventually gave way to the part of her that had housed and then shaped and crafted all three of his children for nine long months, before they eventually reached the smooth mounds of her breasts. And when one of his hands moved up her collarbone to gently cup her jaw, his fingers moving into the silken strands of her blue-black hair as his thumb lightly traced her bottom lip, she finally opened her eyes and he felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart to hammer away in his chest.

"God, you're so beautiful, Tess . . . !" He couldn't help but breathlessly whisper, his voice filled with awe, and she couldn't help but grin and released a sigh and arched her back underneath his callused fingers, pushing more of herself into him as the callused hands continued to lazily peruse her body.

"I bet you tell that to every woman you sleep with, Daryl!" She teased him and he replied with a grin as a callused thumb ran over and played with one hardened nipple as his other hand cupped her hip, pulling her into him. She couldn't help but let out another small moan as she reached up and began undoing the buttons to his shirt, his hands flying up to help her seconds later upon slipping the leather vest from his shoulders.

"Naw, I've only told tha' to jus' ya, Tess." He told her with a wink, and she grinned, although truth be told, she had hardly heard him. Her gaze was full of a kneeling Daryl before her as they slowly divested him of his clothing, which eventually gave way to the sight of his well-built, scarred, tattooed chest. She sat up and her lips connected with his sternum. He let out a slight moan when she cupped him through his pants and rubbed. It was a motion that immediately caused any lingering amounts of blood that was still in his head, to rush down to where she was holding him, where he swelled even more.

His nimble fingers undid the customary clip holding up her hair, where the wealth of her dark waves wasted no time in spilling free, where they tumbled around her shoulders as she proceeded to undo the button and fly of his jeans. She pulled them open seconds later, allowing his member to spring free - hard, thick and duskily beautiful in the afternoon light spilling into the room. The skin that was stretched taut over a lean, hard musculature in front of her was completely Daryl – sweat, the ever-so-slight fruitiness of the cheap perfume she used and which managed to coat every single thing they owned, and the harsh but not completely overpowering scent of the soap they used in the shower. And the hand that buried gently in her hair and tilted her head back slightly to gaze up at him was callused and hard – a touch she knew she would never be able to live without again.

The eyes that gleamed in the darkness above her as her heart continued to pound against her chest and as she held his unwavering gaze, was Daryl's comforting blue gaze – the eyes that every single one of their children had inherited (and thank God too, for what a beautiful blue they were!). She forced her mind to fall silent and to stop its incessant chatter as, slowly, she took him into her mouth, his cock head disappearing seconds later in-between her lips. He immediately sucked in a harsh breath and closed his eyes as his head fell backwards against his shoulders. He let out a groan as he felt her hands skim up his sides, only to eventually settle on the outsides of his thighs. His hand fisted gently in her hair as she closed her eyes and paused when his tip reached the back of her throat, where a low hum soon vibrated from deep within her.

"Good Lord, Tess, ya blow ma mind whenever ya do tha'!" He grinned breathlessly, and she grinned and laughed too upon releasing him. He was still hard - his cock throbbing, in fact - but she continued to grin as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him over and backwards. He fell onto his back amidst the soft covers of the bed and she climbed on top of him moments later, her hands moving to rest on his well-built chest. His hands fell onto her thighs . . . she was poised so temptingly over him so that he was only brushing at her entrance and he swallowed hard at the sight . . .

He tensed slightly underneath her palms, wanting so desperately to just thrust forward and bury himself inside her wet heat. He was straining and practically begging to do so, but he also knew from the look in her eyes that she wouldn't allow him to. He was trapped for the moment, and damned if he didn't know it!

Quickly, before it could get to him too bad, she lowered herself down onto him and stayed there for a moment, holding herself in place and her chest heaving, her body as flushed as his eyes were wild with want. Her hands slid along his chest as she angled herself just right on him - adjusting her position until she had him just where she wanted him to be. Her breasts just brushed his chest as she began moving again.

It felt amazing! His breathing started to come faster and faster as she moved, his hands on her hips setting the friction between their bodies to a deliciously heightened point. He felt a tightness gathering as he got closer and closer to the edge and he was nearly there when she suddenly stopped. Immediately, Daryl let out an irritated growl, his eyes adopting an ever-so-slight look of anger. He tried to move his hips, but the surprisingly strong, petite woman on top of him wouldn't budge. She held herself in place, tension visible in every line of her body.

"It's your turn, Mr. Dixon . . ." She breathed out, her eyes filled with amusement, but yet as feral and wild with want and need as his were. Daryl immediately gave her one of his customary wolfish grins, his overwhelming need to hit his peak temporarily gone. He then placed a biting kiss on the nape of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her and flipped their positions so that he had her pinned against the bed underneath him again. Taking his sweet time, it wasn't long until he himself had kissed down to the dark curls at the apex of her thighs. His need and now painfully throbbing cock clashed violently with what he now wanted to do, and he struggled with himself – and with his self-control - as he parted her thighs.

His first lick was firm as he just simply stroked her outer lips with his tongue and she made a new sound, one that he had never heard come from a woman before – a sound he had never heard come from _her _before - and it made him almost grin again. The next time, he slid the flat of his tongue along the entire length of her and Tessa immediately made another sound – a strangled moan that told him she was clearly enjoying this.

After that one strangled moan, he decided that he had no intention of stopping, his need for release be damned.

He teased the sensitive bud with the tip of his tongue until her breath was coming fast and hard again and until her moans turned more desperate. Tessa's hands were fisting in his hair, her fingers clenching tight around the dark brown strands, holding them there as firmly as his hands were holding her thighs apart.

She gasped as he licked harder, savoring the unique taste of her. "Oh God, Daryl, baby, please . . .!" She whimpered but he kept going, his tongue moving a little faster, a little harder and firmer. She was nearly there – right on the brink - when he suddenly stopped and drew back with one dark chuckle.

His confidently cocky eyes held her angry ones as he quickly positioned himself at her entrance, knowing that if he didn't do something fast to alleviate the feeling inside her, then there was most probably a slap in his immediate future, and not a good slap, either.

She had just but one moment to prepare herself before Daryl slid home, successfully eradicating everything from her mind. It felt amazing – so damn incredible that the both of them couldn't even begin to describe it. He drew back and thrust again and again, which earned small sounds of approval from Tessa with every powerful thrust that he gave her. She was wonderfully responsive as she writhed beneath him and for a moment, that sight alone was better than the sex.

He had been teased by her so much that he knew he couldn't keep this up for long. He slid a hand between them, stroking that small neglected bud right above where they were connected so intimately, and that was all it took. Her groans entered into an immediate crescendo, culminating in a strangled cry of his name that, when combined with the tightening and clenching around him, was enough to push him over the edge as well.

Their bodies spasmed in a rhythm all their own against each other, and, for just a second, there was not Daryl nor Tessa, but a moaning, cursing (Daryl) chorus of ecstasy.

He came in Tessa and held himself there for a moment so that he could enjoy the sensation, as his hips quaked against hers. Eventually, he withdrew and collapsed onto the bunk beside her, his chest heaving as his breathing tore ragged from his chest.

Eventually, when the both of them had rested long enough for their breathing to return to normal, Tessa sat up and straddled him, her face strangely calm and expressionless. "Sit up for a minute, will ya?" She asked him, her voice slightly stiff, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but nodded and did as he was told nonetheless. He sat up, where he moved to lean back on his hands on the bunk. He then watched as she reached around behind her to undo something around her neck. His eyes grew wide with shock when she eventually brought into view the glossy wooden pendant that had hung around her neck from the very second they had been reunited – the pendant that she had worn since the day they first met in highschool.

It was the pendant that had belonged to her now long deceased but very beloved grandmother.

Silently, she clasped it around his neck and he shook his head as she pulled away slightly to watch as it fell a little way beneath the horseshow indentation of his collarbone. Eventually, her eyes met his and he shook his head again. "Tess, babydoll, no, this is ya grandma's -!"

"Yes, I know that," She interrupted him calmly, levelly. "But I want you to come home. No matter what happens, I want you to come back and I don't doubt that you will! However, we also need to realize that, baby . . . things are bad right now and they're only gonna get worse before they get any better. And if you don't . . ." She trailed off then and closed her eyes as tears appeared in her eyes. She then opened them a few seconds later, when she felt she had regained control of herself, where she continued: "Then I want you to die with a piece of me with you. I have this necklace you got me back on the farm, and I have your children – I have a piece of you in Danny and Aayla and Ethan, Daryl – I always will, but you . . . you don't have anything of me. And I think that this more than fits that criterion."

Daryl gazed at her for a moment before he slowly nodded. She gave him a grateful, tearful smile as she cupped his cheek and when he pulled her close to plant a loving kiss on her lips, he tasted the salt from the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. And when she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck as her legs stretched out on the bed behind them, he felt the sobs as they came – for the first time in _so _long.

He sat there and held her as she sobbed – as she let out every fear and worry and heartache that had plagued her since the farm. He didn't cry, though, he _couldn't_ cry, but he did allow himself to bury his face in her hair as a few tears did manage to escape from his eyes. He knew the only time he would ever fully cry would be if he held her – or Ethan or Danny or Aayla – as she died and he prayed that, that would never, ever come.


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally! FINALLY I've written out the part that I've been wanting to write out since the LAST season but I never did cause I could never figure out how exactly I wanted to write it out. And finally, I did, its the opening part to this chapter and I am SOOOOOO happy I finally got this out of my system XD**

**Oh yeah, by the way, Ethan's heart-to-heart with Sam is also this chapter - Halo, I know you are gonna be SOOOO happy with how I wrote it :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: And that's why I'm on the fence about putting my own little plot twist in here, cause I don't know what the shows gonna give me next. I have until "Indifference", actually, before I have to decide and actually incorporate into the writing, so I'm thinking quite a lot about it. But at the end of the day, who knows what I'll do ha ha.**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Your quite welcome, and thanks for the review :)**

**HaloHunter89: Yeah, I thought the necklace giving was a little awesome myself. Might have Sam comment on it later - dunno, but prolly will lol. And I also wanted to show that even though Daryl is this big bad walker hunter, he's GOTTA have some fears and with the way I've written him, I really wanted to portray - and what I think is a pretty in-character fear that Daryl would have in the actual show if he was in this position, actually - that his main fear is losing his family after he finally got them. And oh yeah, Ethan's GONNA become your favorite character at the end of this chapter, jus' sayin'! ;)**

* * *

_Twelve Years Ago . . ._

_"Leyla, leave them alone for five seconds and come here – Halo, you come here too - the both of you need to get your tickets!"_

_ Sam grinned and gave a Tessa a good-natured roll of his eyes as two of the kids crowding around him and the three-year-old Ethan, left him and moved over to Tessa. Smiling, she handed them each the tickets they needed to play the various booths and games spread all around the town square and they thanked her before bounding back off to Sam and Ethan. It was that year's Fall Festival on the Cherokee Indian Reservation located in upstate rural Georgia where Tessa resided with her family, and like every year since she had arrived there a little over three years ago, she had been roped in by her mother to participate and help out. Really, working the ticket booth wasn't that bad of a job – all she had to do was hand out tickets when everyone arrived and then when everyone was there that was going to show up, she could wander around aimlessly with Sam and Ethan then, maybe let Ethan play a few games, laugh at a few of the performers they had managed to get to come that year . . ._

_ "How are you doing, sweetie?"_

_ Tessa jumped when she heard the voice come in her ear and the hand that had moved to lie gently and lovingly over the small of her back, but calmed down when she saw it was just her mother. "Oh yeah, I'm fine, mom." She told her and Sadie Nightrun nodded as she began sorting through the five dollar bills and countless amount of ones that had been handed to her daughter in exchange for the cheap paper raffle tickets._

_ "It looks amazing, don't you think?" She asked her and Tessa nodded as her eyes moved briefly upwards, where she scanned the space around them. The town square wasn't that big, for the reservation in itself wasn't that big, but Tessa had to admit, her mother had done wonders with the space given to her and it certainly looked better than the years before it. For one, the weather had actually cooperated with them that year, causing the sky to appear a flawless baby blue and the sun to shine as bright and as cheerful as any summer day. Dried leaves flittered across the broken cobble-stoned square as light, chilly breezes blew through every now and then and the booths while ramshackle and old, were nonetheless as colorful and cheery as any booth would be at any small town across the Unites States that would be having their annual Fall Festival. _

_"It does . . . you did an amazing job, mom, like you always do." She told her with a smile and Sadie gave her a small, loving smile in reply._

_ "And you know another thing, Tess? I am _so _happy that you and Sam finally tied the knot!" She told her and Tessa immediately let out a sound of irritation as she rolled her eyes._

_ "Mom, please, not this again -!"_

_ "I know, I know, I've said it enough already, but you have no idea how proud of you I am for your decision, honey! When you first told me that you were planning on returning to Shooter's Mill with Ethan, I-I didn't know what to think! But when you changed your mind and decided to stay and raise Ethan here instead of return to that horrible place, I was relieved! In the end, you thought of your son, like any good mother would – and I am _so _proud of you for it! You would have made a big mistake returning to that backwater town!" She told her before rolling her eyes then too. "I mean, Sam is _infinitely_ better for the two of you than that _redneck_ hillbilly you insisted on getting engaged to and who had the fortune to spawn my grandson in the first place. I mean, it's bad enough you gave him the honor of being Ethan's middle name, as well as giving your son _his_ last name -!"_

_ "Mother, with all politeness, please shut about him. You didn't know Daryl," Tessa interrupted her, her tone clipped and cold as she placed a hand on her waist and turned to face the older woman who she also looked the spitting image of. "Don't judge him until you at least get to know him!" She shook her head as she handed another child a few tickets in exchange for the five dollar bill he handed her. "He was an amazing guy and I loved him and I wouldn't take any other man aside from him as being Ethan's father for the world!"_

_Sadie arched a slightly condescending brow. "If this man was so damn amazing, then why did he leave you, huh?"_

_ "He didn't leave me, mom, I left him."_

_ "Well, nevertheless then, my question remains the same."_

_ Tessa stood there and thought for a moment, her eyes falling onto her son being cradled on the hip of Sam not far away from them as she did so. She locked eyes with her son's beautiful blue ones – the blue eyes he had inherited from his father – and when he saw her, he immediately broke out in a completely Daryl-esque grin and waved at her before calling: "Hi, mommy!"_

_ Tessa returned the grin and the wave but couldn't help but imagine another man in Sam's place – a man a little bit taller than he was, with long, dark brown hair completely different from Sam's own dirty blonde, and with the bright blue eyes that his son shared. He also would possess one of the most infectious grins she had ever had the fortune to know on a person, as well as a heart as big and as golden as any other person she would ever have the fortune to know too. And as she stood there and thought about it, she realized that even though she loved her mother with all her heart, telling her the _real _reason why she had left Daryl - the one man she had ever truly loved - would just set her mother on another tirade of just how lowdown and scummy Daryl and his family supposedly 'really were'. _

_It would be a tirade that Tessa knew her mother would _never _get off of, too._

_ Tessa sighed and shook her head. "It's . . . it's complicated mom, okay? Maybe I'll tell you one of these days but right here, right now is not the time." She told her and Sadie nodded, although she could see the slight skepticism that filled her eyes when she could tell that her daughter wasn't nearly telling her everything. Eventually, though, she passed it aside and heaved a sigh instead. She then gave a shrug as she turned her eyes upwards to gaze at Sam and Ethan._

_ "Well, if I can say anything I know with a certainty, it is that this Daryl Dixon must have been pretty damn good-looking man." She told her with a terse little laugh, and Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she gazed at her mom. _

_ "Why do you say that?" She asked , knowing she couldn't dispute her words - because Daryl _was _very good looking - but finding them interesting all the same. __Sadie pursed her lips in irritation as she stamped the stack of money into order on the wood surface of the booth before slipping it into a plastic pouch. _

_ "Tessa, honey, you've always chosen good looking men to become your boyfriends, I mean, look at Sam! He's not a bad looking man himself! And redneck or not, why should this Daryl be any different? And besides . . ." She gave a flippant shrug. "Only a man, who was pretty damn good looking himself, could have had the ability to not only get you pregnant – even though that has nothing to do with it - but also could have graced you with a child as beautiful as my grandson!"_

* * *

"Ya know I'm doin' this for ya, right? I say I'm doin' this for the others too, but really, I ain' doin' this for nobody else _but_ ya, the twins and Wren – to make sure ya guys stay safe!" Daryl told her, his voice thick with emotion, and Tessa gave him a comforting, slightly tearful smile. Her features came to him broken and blurry through the frosted glass of the administrative office that she had been relocated in along with the twins and Wren later that afternoon, but he could see the smile and that alone gave him hope that they would beat this like they had beaten everything else.

She nodded and looked down for a minute before turning her eyes back up to his. "Y-yeah, I know. You'll make it back, though, won't you?" She asked him, her voice coming out a little hesitant, and she could almost see the pained look on Daryl's face as he nodded. His hand moved to splay out on the glass and she gave a little laugh as her hand spread out over his.

"Ya damn right I will, Tess! We haven' made it this far for me to stand aside and let ya be taken from me by a glorified virus – ya or our babies!" He shook his head. "And speakin' I can' hug ya or kiss ya goodbye, ya better expect one _Hell_ of a hug and a kiss when we get back!"

Tessa grinned and gave a laugh. "Well, Daryl, I think you've kissed me more than enough for one afternoon." She told him and he gave a grin in reply.

"Really? 'Cause I don' think I've kissed ya enough today." He told her and she smiled as she pressed her lips to the glass.

"There – there's your kiss. Are you happy now?" She asked him and he rolled his eyes in mock irritation and shook his head.

"No, 'cause tha's not fair, Tess! When ya kiss tha glass, it's cute, but if I did it, then it'd jus' be plain weird lookin'!" She grinned and let out a laugh as she moved aside to allow Wren to stand beside her. Daryl's eyes softened. "How are ya feelin' Little Bird?" He asked her and she nodded.

"I'm feeling fine. Where's Ethan?" She asked him and he nodded towards the doorway that led to the outside of the prison.

"He's helpin' tha others get ready for tha run. Ya want me to send him up before we leave?" He asked and she gave him a grateful smile.

"Would you?" She asked and he nodded.

"Of course, jus' as long as ya promise to look after tha twins and Tess for me while I'm gone." He told her and she rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Well, duh, that's a given!" She told him with a snort and Tessa and Daryl grinned and let out a laugh before Daryl gave Tessa a soft look.

"I should go – they're prolly waitin' on me. We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" He promised her and she nodded.

"Be careful, okay?" She told him, her voice quiet and he gave her a comforting smile.

"Aren't we always, babydoll?"

* * *

"Hey, Ethan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Ethan froze when he heard Sam's voice come from behind him and ignored the look of intense amusement on Michonne's face when he closed his eyes and uttered a quiet 'Shit!' He turned around, however, and smiled a tight smile. "Yeah, sure Sam; what about?"

Sam shrugged as he neared him. "Just, uh . . . I was wondering how you've been doing. We haven't talked all that much since I came here and I worry about you." Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. We're actually getting ready to go out on a run and there's a lot to still do, so, if you don't mind -"

Sam nodded, interrupting him. "Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry, but I won't take up too much of your time. I was just . . ." He shrugged, trailing off as he thought about how exactly he wanted to phrase this. "You and your momma, you've been through a lot since we got split up in Atlanta, haven't you?" He asked him and Ethan nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but that's to be expected, ain't it?" Sam nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I guess so, its just . . . what I'm trying to say is that I'm . . . I'm sorry I wasn't there for you guys, you know?" He asked him and Ethan shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, it's okay. We had deddy, so we were fine."

"Yeah, I know you guys had Daryl – that's how you guys got this far, but . . . I just I wanted you to know -"

"Look, Sam," Ethan interrupted him with a laugh. "I appreciate this apology, I really do. But quite frankly – and I don't mean to be mean, but I'm gonna – but your opinion has never really mattered to me before and it doesn't really now since I have deddy. _His _is the opinion that matters to me – him and mommas and a few others and that's about it."

Sam gave him a look of slight incredulity then. "Ethan, how can you say that? You're smart kid, you know who raised you!" He told him and Ethan nodded slowly.

"Well, _technically_ . . . the both of you guys raised me. Deddy just took over from where you left off."

Sam immediately recoiled in surprise. "W-what . . .?" He asked and Ethan gave a shrug.

"Well, yeah, it makes sense if you think about it. You raised me since I was born – you changed all my shitty diapers and taught me how to walk and talk, as well as right from wrong, but deddy . . ." He gave another shrug as he buried his hands deep in his front pockets. "Deddy's taught me a lot more too – he's raising me in a different way. You raised me on how to be a kid 'cause that's how you and momma could have afforded to raise me. But deddy, he's . . . he's having to do a harder job – he's having to raise me to be a man in this world 'cause people like me and Carl can't be kids anymore. He's taught me better ways to track and hunt and - Jesus Chris, Sam, we've been through _so much_ these past couple of years and deddy's been there with me through the entirety of it - with momma too! And not-to-mention, they have Danny and Aayla, and sure, deddy hasn't had the decade and a quarter practice that you've had, but all things considered, I think he's doing a pretty good job so far and I think it's translating awesomely into how he interacts with the twins," He gave him a slightly apologetic look then. "I'm sorry, Sam, but . . . what kind of bad shit did we ever go through together? When had you ever taken me hunting or when had we ever done anything remotely resembling the father/son bonding time when I was growing up, that me and deddy do now?"

Sam shook his head, shocked. "Ethan, I don't know what you've heard -!"

"Look, Sam," Ethan interrupted him, his tone clearly telling him that he was getting impatient with this little 'chat' of theirs. Sam also noticed the way that Ethan's Southern twang seemed to come out ever-so-slightly when he was irritated and marveled at once again on how amazingly alike he was to Daryl. "The way momma and deddy interact – it doesn' exactly take a deaf, dumb and blind man to tell that they love each other. And since we joined their camp and they were reunited, momma's went through Hell and back from dealin' with shit from her past and-and other shit that's popped up along the way," He shook his head. "Deddy helped her get through all of that. Sam! He saved her from herself so many times and I might piss you off by sayin' this, but you would _never _have helped momma back on the farm and when my uncle Merle was here, the way that deddy did," He gave a thoughtful shrug then. "Maybe back then – maybe in the regular world, you were suited for her, I don't know, 'cause I don't know what their relationship was like back then. But here, in _this_ world – the world we currently live in, deddy is what is good for her. Deddy watches out for her like a husband should, and deddy is what gets her up every morning and keeps her focused on the shit that matters – shit like helpin' the others and takin' care of my little brother and sister. _Deddy_ tells her that he loves her each and every night and that he will _never_ leave her and that he will fight every day to get back to her and dammit, he keeps his word!" He shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing:

"Deddy is what is best for momma right now, Sam, and momma is what is best for deddy. And if you're standing here in front of me thinking that maybe - just _maybe_ - I have some twisted, insane shred of loyalty to you above my own deddy because you supposedly 'raised me', then you need to think again! 'Cause, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that dirty fuckin' redneck in there is my dad and it _still _blows my mind that he managed to get himself such a beautiful, amazin' woman like my momma, but you know what?" He gave a laugh and a shrug. "I thank God every day that he did too, 'cause if they _hadn'_ met and my momma _hadn' _looked at him – wearin' beer goggles or not, that's not somethin' I should question - and said, 'Hmm . . . considering the fact that I think your halfway decent looking enough for a dirty redneck who smells like squirrel guts and deer piss only _half_ the time, and I'm pretty hot myself – I think we should bang each other's brains out!' I wouldn' be here and my little brother and my little sister wouldn' be here also and God_damn_it, Sam, I wouldn' trade that ornery sumbitch for anyone else in the world! And I thank _God_ every day that momma hadn' swallowed those night either!" He told him and immediately heard Michonne's shriek of laughter come from behind him at his words but ignored it as he too gave a grin and a laugh then as he still continued:

"'Cause ya know what, Sam? Of all the men in the world that I could have originated as a little white speck of nothing but millenniums worth of DNA and protein in their ball sack, it had to be _Daryl Dixon_ that became my fuckin' deddy! And that makes me a Dixon too and I am _proud_ of it – I'm proud of _him_! And you wanna know why? It's 'cause _finally _I feel like I have a family, even though I had to have the dumb fuckin' luck to get it a couple of weeks after the world decided to go to Hell in a hand-basket! And he may be dirty and rough around the edges and angrier than a hornet half the time, but I'm not the only one whose grown from this new life. He's grown too and the man that _he's _become makes me even prouder to call him my deddy at the end of the day!"

Ethan finally stopped then, his chest heaving from not taking that many breaths while speaking and eventually, he heard clapping behind him. He turned around, only to see Michonne standing behind him, a grin of approval on her face as she slowly clapped. "_Damn_, Ethan, I didn't know that you could put speeches that amazing, together on a split second's notice! And make them so funny too!" She told him and he gave her a weak, slightly shy smile before gingerly rubbing his neck and turning back to Sam.

"Again, no offense, Sam, but considerin' how things are goin' between you and momma and deddy in particular, I think you needed to hear me say that."

Sam grinned and let out a laugh as he bowed his head and nodded. "You, uh . . . you're funnier than I remember you being. Used to be, you wouldn't talk for nothing. Jesus, Ethan, I think . . ." He let out another laugh as he stood there and thought for a minute before continuing: "I think that's the most I've heard you speak in the entire thirteen years I've known you!" He laughed and Ethan nodded before he got a slightly disgusted look on his face. He glanced behind him at Michonne.

"Thanks, I guess . . . I guess my funniness is the one thing I inherited from my uncle Merle, right?" He told him and Michonne immediately gave a shake of her head as a grin began playing out on her face.

"Oh no, Ethan, you did not! You _are _funny – a lot of other people would say that too. _Merle_ was the only one who thought Merle was funny." She replied and he nodded in agreement as he turned back to face Sam. The older man opened his mouth to speak, to say something reply, but was interrupted when they heard someone bark Ethan's name. Eyes growing wide, everyone turned their attention onto the tense Daryl walking down the path towards them and while Sam immediately tensed, Ethan didn't. He knew when his father was scared and he knew when his father was pissed. Right then, his father was scared, but then again, that fear could very easily jump over into angry territory if the wrong thing was said.

"How are momma and the twins? How's Wren?" He asked him, nervousness in his eyes, and Daryl nodded as he closed the distance between them. Michonne let out a breath of relief, but Ethan could see the worry and fear running through his deddy's eyes. Hell, half the time, he knew that only he and his momma could read him like a book and that was not only because they knew how, but also because Daryl _let _them.

"We got 'em situated in one of tha offices pretty easily– its tha one right beside Beth's and Little Ass Kicker's. They all seem to be doing fine, but the twins seem a little fussy. We moved one of tha cribs in there too to make 'em more comfortable, but I can tell Aayla didn' like bein' moved either way," He told him before his eyes flickered onto Sam then. "Ya know . . . unfamiliar territory and shit like tha'." Sam nodded, slowly.

"I know. I've raised a kid." He told him and a flicker of irritation flitted through Daryl's eyes then, but he turned them onto Ethan before they could linger on him too much.

"I've been told by Wren to have ya go up and see her before we leave," He told him and Ethan nodded. "We won' leave 'til ya get back, so take ya time." Ethan nodded again and thanked him as he moved past him to head back up the path towards the prison, Daryl patting him on the back as he moved past him. It was then, that his eyes fell onto Sam. "How well can ya shoot a gun, Yankee?"

Sam gave a shrug. "Pretty decently; I made it out of Atlanta, didn't I?" His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. "Why?"

Daryl pursed his lips as he threw him in the shotgun he had been holding, then a hunting knife and a pistol. "Ya one of the last few tha' hasn' been in contact with the sickness yet, so tha' means ya comin' with us to make a little run."

Sam gave him a slightly apprehensive look. "Are you sure? I mean -"

"Look, ya jackass!" Daryl hissed, that fear in his eyes immediately being replaced with anger. At the sound of his voice dropping into a threatening growl, Ethan froze and spun around mid-way up the path to watch them, body tensing in anticipation of having to yank him off of Sam if the need arose. Daryl shook his head. "Tess is in quarantine with _my _son's girlfriend and _my _son and daughter!" He continued to hiss as he took a few steps towards him, trying the entire time to desperately get his anger under control. However, for some reason, the man standing in front of him made it _so hard_ to keep his anger under wraps_. _"So right now, if ya _don' _come with me, even though ya _claim _to have this great love for her – I will put a bullet through ya head and end ya life right here, right now! And somethin' tells me tha' ya know I ain' fuckin' with ya! Hell, I think ya _know _I don' fuck with people when it comes to ma family, especially Tess!"

It took a moment, but eventually Sam nodded and Daryl backed away, where he glanced behind at Ethan. He nodded and his son returned the nod before he turned around and resumed his trek back up to the prison. Daryl then turned his gaze onto Michonne, who nodded as well. "Who else is coming?" She asked him and he sighed.

"Ben, me, you, Ethan and Tyrese," He glanced at Sam. "And him. We'll take the SUV. Yankee can ride in the back with the supplies."


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I'm only warning you now, this chapter is kinda weird in the respect that . . . it doesn't really have anything to do with the Walking Dead. I mean, yeah, it does in the same respect that it still takes place in the same universe and still has the same characters, but this takes place about a year or so after Ethan's birth and when Tessa and Sam were trying for a baby. The reason I've written this is 'cause ****I've been wanting to do this thing where now that Sam is in the picture, I kinda want to toy around with him and Tessa's past a little bit in my downtime in-between episodes or whatever. I think you guys will like it because you'll get a little bit of background information on what Tessa's life was like in-between her and Daryl and then in-between her and Daryl reuniting. Anyway, it skips around a little bit and it does contain a few feels (damn!) but overall, I think I get across her mind-set during this whole "chapter" of her life.**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Yeah, I loved writing it. I think Ethan might turn out to be a little bit of a comedian :)**

**TheShield'sGirl: And they are only going to get better!**

**HaloHunter89: You noticed that - yay! I needed a kid's name so I slapped down Halo and didn't realize it until I was editing it on here and I just decided to keep it. I don't normally do dedication chapters anymore but consider that a partial dedication :). And I TOLD you, you would like the whole speech, didn't I? I gotta warn you, though, this chapter also will probably make you pretty sad at some points, which is what I want: I want to show how bleak and colorless Tessa's life without Daryl was, as well as how badly her and Sam's marriage struggled along and I think I successfully accomplished that. And don't worry, Sam will see how good Daryl and Ethan work together and it _might _bring about something . . . ;)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: DarylDixon'sLover, meet HaloHunter89 ^^^. She is the unofficial head of the I Sam Hate Club - you might want to inquire about joining up ;)))**

**Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana**

* * *

_"And the lightnin' strikes _  
_Another love grows cold _  
_On a sleepless night _  
_As the storm blows on _  
_Out of control _  
_Deep in her heart _  
_The thunder rolls . . ."_

_- "The Thunder Rolls'" by Garth Brooks_

_Twelve-Years-Ago . . ._

_"Yes, mom, I'm on my way; I just have to finish getting dressed and then I have to get Ethan dressed too. I've been running a little late today for some reason . . ."_

_ Tessa rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror as she adjusted the necklace hanging around her neck while simultaneously balancing her cellphone in-between her ear and her shoulder. "_Yes, mother_, I am hurrying! No, mom, I am not trying to skip out," She gave another exasperated roll of her eyes. "Look, mom, I gotta go. If I don't, then I'm never going to leave because I'm not going to be getting shit done because I'm going to be talking to you! Yeah, tell dad I love him." _

_She let out a sound of irritated after she briskly told Sadie Nightrun bye before cutting off her phone and placing it on the white countertop beside the sink. She continued gazing at herself in the mirror, putting a few last finishing touches on herself – straightening her clothes, adding one last spritz of perfume – when her hands ghosted over her barely there pregnancy bump through the soft cotton of her shirt. They immediately froze along with the rest of her body and her face immediately went expressionless in the mirror. She continued to gaze at herself before swallowing heavily. She felt herself get that way every time her hands ghosted over that spot and quite frankly, it was starting to worry her a little bit. She and Sam had been trying so hard for the last year to conceive a baby that didn't end in a miscarriage a week or two later and when they finally did, Sam had been overjoyed while Tessa had simply felt . . . _

_What _had_ she felt? _

_Sadness? Anger? Happiness?_

_Guilt . . .?_

_Emptiness._

_She had felt happy because finally, they had conceived the child they had been trying so hard to conceive, but as for the other emotions – the emotions she knew didn't belong inside her . . . Tessa knew they were there because of Daryl – or the memory of him, anyway. Daryl walked hand-in-hand with her depression and even though she knew she should let him go – to try not to cling to the memory of him for the sake of her new life, her new family, her new child . . . she just couldn't. It was almost as if she refused to let him go and refused to forget the memories that had been devoted solely to him. _

"What about you? How many do you want again? _Four_?" She asked him, wiggling her eyebrows in a playful challenge, and instead of immediately hopping to meet it, Daryl simply smiled a small smile and moved a lock of her dark hair out of her face and behind one ear.

"I don' care how many we have, Tess, jus' as long as ya they momma . . ."

_Tessa closed her eyes and sucked in a harsh breath as she bent down over the sink, trying hard to banish the tears that welled up in her eyes at the memory. Her hands gripped the countertop so hard her knuckles started turning white and her heart began pounding a painful beat in her chest. Her teeth gritted against the tears but she knew it was futile. Eventually, the sobs came and when they came, they came in an almost torrential waterfall. She didn't know what was wrong with her – why she couldn't abandon the memory of _one_ man but she knew why. That man in question had been the first man she had ever loved and the first man she had helped bring back together after he had lived so long broken. _

_He was the first man who looked up at her with love and adoration shining in his eyes . . . the first man she had ever wanted to marry and have his children. _

_She felt angry at herself because she had allowed herself to walk away from Daryl in the first place., even though she knew Merle had been the driving force in the first place She felt sadness because the child inside her wasn't Daryl's – that he or she belonged to a man that she didn't really love but was giving birth to his child just so he would shut up about it. She felt guilt gnawing away at her soul because the child wasn't Daryl's and she had promised him that every child she would ever give birth to, would be his._

_She felt empty . . . because the child inside her_ was not_ Daryl's._

_"Mama . . .? Mama, ya in here?"_

_Ethan's small, still baby-like voice, came to her as he toddled down the hall to stand in front of the opened doorway to the bathroom. It was the one thing that caused her tears to immediately dry up and her heart to stop its brutal beat. She swallowed heavily and nodded as she quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes before glancing at him and moving to fix her make-up. "Y-yeah, baby, I'm right here – I'll be out in a minute." She told him and he nodded as he stood there for a minute longer, his stuffed elephant in his arms that always seemed to be there and when she glanced down at him, seeing that he had not once taken those beautiful Dixon blue eyes off of her, she furrowed her brows gently in confusion. "What is it, baby?" She asked him and Ethan gave her a small smile._

_"I love ya, mama."_

_She immediately felt tears fill her eyes again and she stooped down, where she immediately took him in her arms, where she hugged him tightly. His stuffed elephant hit the floor as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug as well and she took a shuddering breath when they broke apart. She sniffed and cupped his face with her hands before she leaned forward and pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. _

_"I love you too, baby," She told him before giving a smile and a shake of her head. "You look so much like your father . . . I can't hardly believe it sometimes." She told him and Ethan gave her another small smile as she picked up his elephant and handed it to him. He took it as she smiled. "Now, take Mr. Heffalump and go on back in the living room and watch Pooh, okay? I'll be out in a minute, I promise."_

_"We gonna go see grandma, wight?" He asked her and she nodded and gave a little laugh as she patted him on the back and got to her feet._

_"Yes, baby, we're going to go see grandma. Now go on and get – I'll only be a few more minutes." Ethan nodded as he turned around and ran back into the living room with his elephant. Tessa smiled and turned back to gaze at herself in the mirror. She put the finishing touches on her make-up and when she was sure there was no longer any evidence of her tears, she turned to leave. She felt a tendril of emptiness find a home in her heart, but she passed it by. She would live with it, just like she had to live with it every single day of her life here and for a moment, she felt another twinge of guilt but for a completely different reason. The baby she carried, was not going to be born in love - Hell, it hadn't even been _conceived _ in love like Ethan had. The night Ethan had been conceived, had been passionate and heady because Tessa knew it was the last time she would ever be in Daryl's embrace and she wanted to make it count. But this baby . . . she baby she found herself pregnant with now . . . it would have none of that. It was conceived on a night where the sex had been routine and almost mechanical . . . the sex that she viewed a chore instead of the heart-racing anticipations that it had been with Daryl._

_She was moving out of the bathroom when she felt it and the sensation immediately brought her back down into reality. __It started out as a sharp, jabbing pain in her stomach that immediately had her furrowing her eyebrows in slight alarm. When the pain turned into severe cramps, however, she felt the air being sucked from her lungs as something akin to a fist, started squeezing them. She crumpled backwards to the floor in the bathroom, her hand flying to her stomach as she did so._

_"No . . . no, no, no . . ." She murmured frantically while shaking her head and her hand immediately flew upwards to the countertop above her, where it began immediately and blindly searching for her cellphone. She quickly found it and as she felt the gush of blood and water between her legs that was accompanied by the stomach-twisting feeling of a contraction, she had the phone to her ear and was listening to it ring as somewhere outside, the sound of rolling thunder could be heard. _

_Eventually the other line picked up and she let out a breath of relieve, even as her vision narrowed. "Hey, Tess, everything okay?"_

_"Sam . . ."_

_"Mama . . .?"_

_Her heart picked up another frantic beating at Ethan's inquiring tone again growing nearer, but she couldn't do anything. Sam's name was all that she could say before she hit the floor, her world going black seconds later._

_"MAMA!"_

_"Tess . . .? Tess, ya there . . .?"_

* * *

_Tessa slowly opened her eyes God only knew how much later, only to find that the entire world was bleary and filmy except for the flash of bright light that would pierce her eyes every few seconds or so. Loud voices slowly filled her ears as she slowly clawed her way to a hazy consciousness, and it took her a moment to realize that she was moving . . . fast._

_"Sir, you have to back up -!"_

_"She's my wife and that's my baby she's losing! You don't understand – I need to be with her! She _needs_ me!"_

_"She'll be fine sir, we just need you to back -!"_

_"Tess . . . Tess, look at me!"_

_The voice that reached her next was different from the others, yet also completely familiar and strangely comforting. Tessa slowly turned her eyes onto the man quickly jogging alongside her with the nurses and doctors, her eyes falling onto his dark brown hair and his beautiful blue eyes – the man that wasn't Sam and who wasn't currently having to be held back by three nurses. _

_"Daryl . . .?"_

_He nodded. "Ya gonna be fine, babydoll, okay? I'm here – I'll always be here!"_

_"Hurry, doctor – she's delirious!"_

_One of the nurse's frantic voices entered her mind and partly registered, but Tessa was too exhausted to try and understand things completely at that point. She simply shook her head as she felt her eyes grow heavy again. Her lower body continued to throb and when she glanced down, she saw the white sheets underneath her still stained with a garish blood red. "Daryl, you're not . . . you're not . . . real . . ." She murmured and she heard Daryl call her name a few more times before her vision went black again. _

_It wasn't long after that, before things went entirely silent again._

* * *

_"Babydoll . . . babydoll, ya there . . .?"_

_Tessa swallowed as the voice reached her through the blackness clouding her mind, where it gently pulled her into consciousness. She winced at how dry her mouth and throat felt and immediately wished she could be handed a cup of water. She blearily opened her eyes, where she tried so desperately to bring the man sitting beside her, into focus. His long, dark brown hair, beautiful blue eyes . . . she had been seeing him all day through her intermittent bouts of pained consciousness, and now he was sitting beside her on the hospital bed she was currently lying in, cradling her in the same strong arms she thought would never cradle her again._

_ When she finally registered it was him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. __"D-Daryl . . .?"_

_He gave a laugh and a nod. "Yeah, it's me, babydoll. Ya've been sayin' ma name all day - its 'bout time ya fully recognize me!" His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "And good Lord, ya burnin' up, too!" She shook her head, her voice taking on a firm tone._

_"Daryl, you're not here." He nodded as a mournful look appearing in his eyes. His hand left her and moved to wrap around her waist, where he pulled her closer to him._

_"I know . . . wish I was, though - wish I was more than anythin'! I'm . . . jus' ya mind givin' ya somethin' to soothe ya with, I guess . . ." He swallowed hard and pinned her with a firm look. "Ya gonna be okay, babydoll, I promise ya. Ya gonna hurt for a while but ya'll be fine. Ya got Ethan – ya gonna stay strong for him." _

_She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "How bad was it . . .?"_

_"I won' lie to ya - there was a lotta blood . . ."_

_"How big was it?"_

_He smiled a small, sympathetic smile. "No bigger than a little matchbox." She shook her head then as tears appeared in her eyes._

_"I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry!"_

_"What for?"_

_"For the baby not being yours after I promised you repeatedly that every kid I ever got pregnant with, would be yours. I'm sorry I left Daryl, I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry for so many things that I can't take back and which are slowly killing me!" Daryl's eyes softened as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She didn't feel anything but why would she? He wasn't even there._

_"Don' ya dare apologize for anythin', Tess! Ya gave me Ethan and ya know I'm proud of him! One is better than none." She shook her head._

_"But you won't even know him because of me!" She told him but there was no answer that time. Daryl was gone and with him, every ounce of happiness she had felt since waking up and seeing him sitting beside her, holding her, conjured apparition or not._

* * *

_"Tessa, with your infertility problems . . . and Sam's low sperm cell count . . . really no chance . . . I'm sorry . . ."_

_ Dr. Chakwas' voice floated in and out of Tessa's range of comprehension as she sat there in one of the uncomfortable plastic armchairs in his office with him sitting across from her at his massive mahogany desk. Sam was sitting beside her too, numb as well with the news and the look that the good doctor passed between them, was a look of sympathy, however, Tessa hardly noticed that either. She hadn't noticed a lot since the miscarriage a couple of days ago._

_ "But . . . but she has Ethan! How can it be impossible for her to conceive if she's already had Ethan?" Sam spoke up with a shake of his head and Tessa felt herself tuning in to this new direction the conversation was headed. Dr. Chakwas' gave him a sympathetic look, as well as a weak shrug of his shoulders._

_ "I didn't say that it would be impossible for her to conceive – I said that it would be close to impossible for the _two _of you to conceive and then keep the baby. And even if you _did_ have a normal cell count, the two of you still would not be able to conceive a child by normal means and expect it to keep," He gave her a slightly pointed, but by no means a disapproving gaze. "And Tessa had informed me earlier when the two of you first started wanting to try for a child, that her and Ethan's father had undergone absolutely no fertility treatments at all, prior to her conceiving naturally," He gave another weak shrug. "So, from a medical standpoint – and I haven't talked to him or treated him, so I don't know for sure - but Ethan's father just . . . was lucky enough to have the high cell count and motility needed to conceive a child naturally with her, while you, quite simply, do not."_

_ At the look of slight disbelief that echoed on Sam's face, Tessa nodded and placed her hand at her mouth, starting to feel a little sick as another sharp cramp hit her stomach. Dr. Chakwas noticed and heaved a sigh as he directed his next words towards her. "I'd take it easy for a while, Tess, okay?" He told her and she gave a tiny nod as he shook his head. "No walking around for extended periods of time, no heavy lifting – no driving, especially!" He grimaced slightly. "This one was bad, Tess, I won't lie! It might take you a while to bounce back from this one, so don't be alarmed if all you want to do for the next few days is just sleep."_

_ "And . . . and what about the delusions she had?" Sam asked him then, his voice lowering as he sat forward slightly, and the Doctor gave him a disapproving look._

_ "Her mind found itself under an extreme amount of stress and shock, Sam. Her body had lost a lot of blood, as well as the baby. Her mind did that so that she could better cope in the long-run. Quite frankly, I would be worried if her mind _hadn't _been trying to protect her in that way." He gave a shrug. "Now, as to what she had been seeing -"_

_ "Daryl. I had been seeing Daryl . . ." She interrupted him with a hard swallow and when the Doctor's eyebrows furrowed gently in confusion, especially at the breath of irritation that came out of Sam's mouth, Tessa hurried to explain. "Daryl is Ethan's father, Doctor Chakwas. I had been seeing him." He nodded slowly. _

_ "My guess is that he was comforting you, right?" He asked and she nodded. He pursed his lips as he flitted his eyes back and forth between the two of them. _

_ "Like I said, Tessa's body has been put through a remarkable amount of stress, shock and blood loss. Her mind conjuring up Ethan's father was her body's way of both coping and getting through something so traumatic like this in one piece – by conjuring up the one thing it knew would soothe her. The mind is remarkable in that way – similar to how abuse victims can simply wake up one day and find that they have forgot everything until something triggers the memories to come back." He gave her a look. "If they persist, though, you need to call me so that we can do some further tests, okay?" She nodded and he smiled sympathetically as the two of them got to their feet. "I am so sorry for your loss. I know how much the both of you were wanting this." He told them and while Sam thanked him as he shook his head, Tessa simply nodded. _

_ They left the doctor's office moments later, Sam shoving his hands down into the front pockets of his jeans as Tessa crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest, they made their quick way to the truck. It hurt every time she made the slightest movement - especially walking - but she didn't tell Sam how much, even though she knew he had a pretty good idea. So instead, she stayed silent as they got in the truck and as he started the engine. They sat there for a while before Tessa took a shuddering breath._

_ "I think we need to give up." She told him and he glanced at her._

_ "What do you mean?" She gave a snort of sarcasm._

_ "You know what I mean." She told him as she shook her head. "Because I can't handle this pain anymore, Sam. I just can't, I'm sorry." _

_He nodded, a tone of bitterness descending into his voice when he answered her. "Yeah, me neither, so don't feel bad. And besides," He gave an indifferent shrug then. "It'll just be one more thing that I won't be able to compare to with him, will it?" _

_Tessa sent him a sharp look, finding that she didn't like the condescension in his tone before muttering: "You were never able to compare to him, Sam."_


	9. Chapter 9

**You know, there is a reason why I love, love, LOVE big huge long reviews. Sometimes, they give us writers SUCH good ideas and I thank you, Halo, for that huge nice long review that gave me the inspiration I muchly needed in order to write either the next chapter or the one after that, I'm not sure yet, so yay - thank you! :)**

**Not much going on in this one . . . Daryl and Ethan harmlessly pushing each other's buttons in the beginning (like they always do) and Tessa and Wren slight bonding time at the end . . . kinda boring, really. Sorry, 'bout that, but the next chapters should be more exciting :)  
**

**Nevermind, I lied, it gets pretty awesome. Oh, and sorry for the cliffhanger ;)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Yup. Cried a little while writing it, won't lie ha ha**

**NanamiYatsumaki: I like to think that Sam stayed with her because he genuinely loved her and he wanted to try and help her get over Daryl - that he still kinda feels something for her, despite Daryl being there - but as we all know, that came back and bit him in the ass, multiple times. Don't know why they stayed together though, might have to explore that in later chapters . . . money issues? Probably.**

**HaloHunter89: Oh I loved your review. Seriously, I did. And yes, it did give me a major idea that I will be putting into words fairly soon, so feel good - your helping me! And I'm glad you keep catching what I'm trying to portray. I wanted to portray, that yes, Tessa left him, but she never stopped feeling guilty about it - that it plagued her so badly throughout those thirteen-fourteen years they were separated. But remember, she didn't want that baby - she was having that baby to get Sam off her back, so . . . yeah, there was a little coldness there that I slipped in at the last moment because I thought it better portrayed how mechanical her life had become without Daryl. And your poor doggy! I feel so bad now ;)**

* * *

"Ethan, come on now, enough of ya shit - it was a big word!"

Ethan couldn't stop laughing as he sat up in the passenger seat of the car with Daryl as his father continued to drive down the road in the general direction of the veterinary college, a grin plastered on his face. He ended up having to hold his sides as he only laughed harder at his father's words. He shook his head and glanced at him, mirth shining in his eyes. "Deddy, do you have any idea how much worse that makes it sound! 'It was a big word, so's I had to get Martin to translate it for me!'" He spoke, his voice lowering to mimic Daryl's and he shook his head then, his laughter trailing off gleefully as Daryl gave him a look.

"Yeah, well, sorry Ethan if ya old man wasn' exactly a scientific whiz kid back in highschool! And Hell, I _dare_ ya to try and read those fuckin' scientific medicinal names! In fact, fuck it - Martin, give him the list - we're gonna test this shit out _now -_!" He snapped and Martin smiled and shook his head and politely declined as he continued to sit there crammed in the back seat in-between Michonne and Tyrese. Sam sat in the back with the supplies and he gave a laugh as Ethan shook his head.

"Nah, deddy, that's fine - I don't want to have to hang something else over your head that tells everyone else that there's something else I'm better than you at." He told him with a shit-eating grin and Daryl gave him look of slight incredulity, his eyebrows disappearing up into his hairline as he did so.

"Ya pushin' it, kid, I swear to God ya are!" He pointed at him then. "Ya watch - next time we're huntin' in tha woods - its fuckin' _on_ like _Donkey _Kong! First one to nail five squirrels in under five minutes wins -!"

Ethan gave a snort of derision. "Five squirrels in five minutes? Shit, deddy, I'll make 'em in _three_! You can spend the extra two minutes to scrape that egg of your face."

"Fine, ya want three ya little Dixon shit?" Daryl asked, a grin appearing on his face as well as him and Ethan let out identical laughs. "I'll lower it to just a minute, jus' 'cause ya gonna need tha extra two to differentiate that hole in tha ground from ya ass!"

Michonne and Martin grinned and laughed as they good-naturedly shook their heads at the harmless fight currently playing out between the two Dixons in front of them. Even Tyrese found himself smiling and when Michonne glanced back at Sam, upon seeing the expressionless look on his face as he had no choice but to listen to their words like the rest of them, she was drug back into reality when Martin chuckled and spoke, breaking up the two's fight as he did so.

"Look, I don't think this is necessary. Daryl, _anyone_ could have messed up that word unless you had _some_ type of medical training, so don't feel bad. Hell, there were doctors out there that I used to know, who couldn't even pronounce _half_ the meds they prescribed to their patients!"

"Or scientific, he's right." Sam added with a slight smile and Daryl gestured back in his general direction as he directed his words towards Ethan.

"Ain' tha' what I said five seconds – scientific whiz kid?" He asked before shaking his head. "Ma entire highschool career, Ethan, was spent in shop class and workin' on cars – shit I could do with ma hands and which didn' take a whole lot of brain power to do – or at least a different kind of brain power, anyway. I wasn' exactly mixin' up shit in chemistry. I don' even think I _took_ chemistry, come to think 'bout it . . ."

"That came later in your life, right?" Ethan grinned and Daryl immediately pinned a look on him.

"Who tha' fuck told ya 'bout tha'?" He asked him, his voice going slightly testy and cold and Ethan gave an indifferent shrug as he moved to prop his feet up on the dashboard in front of him.

"Truthfully, it wasn't that hard to guess, deddy. Momma left ya, ya lost ya job . . . makes sense you'd go Breaking Bad." Daryl gave a scoff.

"Yeah, well, I hate to burst ya bubble kid, but unlike tha' show, ya don' exactly have to be a chemistry genius to make tha' shit." He told him as he leaned over and began fiddling with the radio. Michonne gave a roll of her eyes from the backseat.

"Daryl, now what makes you think that the radio is gonna be working?" She asked him with a grin, and he ignored her as he nodded towards the dashboard that Ethan had his feet propped up on.

"Why don' ya hand me one of those CDs there?" He told him and Ethan nodded as he took down his feet and opened the dashboard, where he took out the black leather case and began thumbing through the CDs. His eyebrows furrowed in disgust as every second ticked by that he observed the CDs contained within.

"There's Fall Out Boy, Hinder . . . fuckin' _Lady Gaga_?" Ethan read before letting out a snort of disbelief. "Damn, Zach had absolutely _no _taste in music!" He muttered as Daryl gave him a slightly disgusted look and continued to fiddle with the radio.

"You mean there's no fuckin' rock in there?"

Ethan shook his head. "Nope. Not even fuckin' Motley." Daryl shook his head.

"_Shit_ - everyone loves Motley -!"

"Wait, was that a voice?"

Martin was the one who interrupted Daryl in order to speak, immediately silencing everyone as Daryl quickly moved to retrace his steps with the radio. And eventually, slowly but surely, he managed to narrow it down to a couple of channels where the radio broadcast was coming in loud and clear. It was clearly a man speaking and they all shared looks of incredulity for a moment before Sam let out a loud curse from the back and latched onto the seat in front of him.

"_Shit_ Daryl – look out!"

Michonne leaned forward and clasped a firm hand on Ethan's shoulder, keeping him back, as the car hit a walker lumbering across the road in front of them before he swerved to avoid another. The quick swerve caused the car to immediately begin to fishtail down the road and Daryl expertly maneuvered the machine through the motions before it grew safe enough to slam on the breaks. They came to a stop and sat there for a moment, catching their breathing and trying to still their frantically beating hearts. Michonne slowly let go of Ethan, but not before their hearts sunk down into the pits of their stomachs. A massive herd of walkers that separated them from continuing down the road towards the college, quickly came up on them, where they began pounding at the car, trying their damndest to find a way in.

Ethan swallowed nervously, as did everyone else there. "Uh . . . deddy, got any of those amazing ideas of yours?"

"Yeah - grab onto somethin'!"

Everyone promptly did as Daryl told them, before he slammed the car into reverse, turned around and then gunned the engine. The tires spun for a moment seeking traction, before they found it and propelled backwards. Ethan quickly latched onto the dashboard in front of him as he was thrown forward along with anyone else who hadn't immediately heeded Daryl's words.

Walked after walker collided violently with the car's back bumper and when they came to a stop, it was only because the back of the car was stuck on a pile of still moving corpses. Michonne quickly pointed, her mind not missing a beat. "Go to the left, Daryl – the left!"

Daryl nodded and popped the car into drive before hitting the gas pedal. The tires spun but didn't go anywhere as he simply ran the rubber into the faces of the walkers trapped underneath them. Daryl cursed violently before shooting a look at Ethan.

"This, Ethan, is why we need more Jeeps with lifts!" He told him and Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Tell ya what, deddy: I'll be sure to bring it up next council session. Now, how in the Hell do we get out of here?"

"We'll have to make a run for tha gaps right there," He told them while pointing towards the trees not that far away from the road. They nodded as they immediately got their weapons ready. Daryl's eyes locked with Ethan's before he wrapped a hand around his neck. "Ya stick with me, ya hear - almost to tha point where I expect ya to become ma livin' shadow! If we get separated, though, go with Michonne – don' go off on ya own – ya stick with one of us, okay?" He told him and Ethan nodded and swallowed hard before Daryl turned to gaze at all of them. "Ya'll make a run for tha woods and ya don' stop for nothin', ya understand?" He barked and everyone nodded as they grasped the door handles. They took a moment to collect themselves before Daryl nodded and popped out the glass of the sunroof above him.

"GO!"

The car doors were all opened simultaneously, with blades and bolts immediately sticking into decaying heads, only for walkers to fall dead to the ground as they all scrambled to get out of the car and then pulled their weapons free. Daryl slid down the front windshield of the car and pulled out the bolt he had shot through a now dead walker's head before he stabbed his knife through another unfortunate walker. He then made an immediate beeline for the others.

"Come on – go, _go_!'

He roughly pushed Ethan in front of him and they continued to fight a steady path through the walker horde surrounding them from all sides, Michonne by their side and Martin and Sam bringing up the rear as best they could. "Ya doin' good, Ethan - jus' keep goin'." Daryl told him, his breathing starting to tear ragged from his lungs with the energy it took to fight their way through. Ethan simply grin as he slammed the blade of his knife through a walker's head before yanking it free and kicking him away from him.

"That's the fifth one for me so far – how many you got, old man?" He asked and Daryl shot him a look, although a look of pride and amusement shone in his eyes nonetheless.

"Probably about four, but ya better watch out - _tenderfoot_ - I'm catchin' up on ya -!"

"Look, I'm extremely sorry for interrupting your twisted father/son bonding moment, but can we please focus on _surviving _right now instead of making this a damn competition?" Sam snapped and Michonne nodded as she sliced off the head of a walker lumbering towards her.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd say this, but I think I agree with Sam right now." She grunted and Martin nodded as well as Daryl gave a shrug.

"Suit yaselves – but ya better move ya asses, 'cause we're almost there!"

Daryl immediately grabbed a rough hold of Ethan shirt before pulling him in the direction of the woods behind Michonne and Sam. It wasn't until they were almost at the break in the trees, that they started hearing Martin scream Tyrese's name.

"What tha fuck is tha' dumbass doin'?"

"Martin, _come on_!"

Martin was standing in the middle of a quickly growing herd of walkers as Tyrese . . . remained sitting in the car. Their eyebrows furrowed in bewildered confusion and the three people standing there shared mutual looks as Martin continued to fight off the walkers coming at him, while simultaneously shouting for Tyrese to hurry up and get out of the car.

Once Tyrese was _finally _out of the car, Martin stumbled towards them, Ethan grabbing ahold of him and pulling him to his feet. They stood there and helplessly watched for a moment as Tyrese slowly but surely found himself surrounded by hungrily moaning walkers. The big man was cutting down as many as he could, as quickly as he could while continuing to shout at them to 'go' as he did so and eventually, Daryl swallowed hard and clasped a hand on Ethan's shoulder, where he pulled him in the direction of the woods along with the others.

"Come on, there ain' nothin' we can do." He told them and they nodded in helpless agreement as they ran through the break in the trees, finding themselves on a beaten forest road seconds later. Not knowing where they were going – not really _caring _where they were headed – they slowed to a stop when they came to a clearing. Daryl bent down and reloaded his crossbow as the rest stood there and caught their breath, their eyes perpetually trained on the woods that they had come from, their heels hot with walkers.

It wasn't long before they heard walkers and when they came, snarling, from the trees, the five of them raising their weapons in preparation for battle, none of them were expecting to see Tyrese come barreling out of the treeline, not a scratch or bite on him and cutting down the walkers as he did so. He immediately collapsed to his knees in exhaustion and slight shock when he saw his friends and as Michonne quickly sliced off the head to the remaining walker, the rest ran over to him. Daryl and Ethan reached him first and both Dixons grabbed him by the shoulders and hefted him to his feet before quickly pulling him in the direction they had been going, not one of them wanting to turn around and see how many walkers were lumbering out of the woods behind them.

"Ya know what, deddy . . ." Ethan gasped out when they could eventually slow their pace to a fast walk instead of a near constant run and Daryl nodded as he glanced at him.

"Yeah . . .?" He asked as Ethan shook his head.

"I don't think those Jeeps with lifts is necessarily a bad idea, 'cause I do _not _wanna do that again – _ever_!"

Daryl gave a laugh then and nodded. "I'm tellin' ya . . . there ain' nothin' a Jeep can' do if ya trick it out right."

A sharp laugh caught their attention then and they all stopped and turned to look at Sam as he gave another laugh and shook his head. His hands moved to his hips as he gave a shrug. "Are you serious right now?" He asked him and Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Pretty damn - why?"

Sam shook his head. "We just got . . . _inches _away from getting our faces chewed off by a herd of fuckin' walkers and you _fuckin'_ make a competition out of it?" He spoke and it took Daryl a moment to realize that he was directing his words towards Ethan instead of him. He turned a bewildered glance onto Ethan, saw the look of wide-eyed surprise on his son's face and then felt a roiling of anger when he saw the look of wide-eyed surprise replaced with one of sheepishness. He immediately twirled around and marched over to Sam, anger filling his eyes.

"Hey, ya need to watch it -!"

"And your no fuckin' better!" Sam interrupted him with a snap and a glare of anger that almost rivaled his own. "Fuckin' egging that shit on - making a twisted fuckin' father/son bonding thing out of it!" He shook his head. "You ain't teaching him anything, Daryl - your just showing him how to get cocky enough so that he can more easily get himself killed -!"

Daryl shook his head. "Motherfucker, how I raise ma kid is _none_ of your business -!"

Sam let out a snort of sarcasm. "Oh well, that's rich considering _you _are simply picking up where I left off at!"

Daryl recoiled in slight shock for a moment and shook his head in incredulity, although he couldn't help but feel a flicker of respect for him now that he was finally growing a pair of balls. However, he was always trying to step out of that place that he had put him in and Daryl couldn't let that happen. _He_ was King of his family's hill and he'd be _damned _in he'd let Sam think he could stand on it beside him.

Only one person could do that - only one person was his fuckin' equal in this world, and that was fuckin' Tessa.

Finally, and after thinking for a moment, he realized he had Sam's ticket, and only grinned evilly as he stepped closer to him, his face moving inches from his. Michonne and the others tensed, the scene before them immediately bringing to mind an Alpha wolf reasserting his dominance over a weaker male and Michonne would be lying if she said it wasn't a little bit amusing, if not prickly.

"Yeah . . . yeah, ya raised him, I'll give ya tha' . . ." His told him before trailing off, his grin becoming almost wolfish in its cruelty then and immediately, everyone tensed, feeling the heady, almost electric air that surrounded them. "But how does it feel knowin' tha' _I _was tha one who knocked her up? How does it feel knowin' tha' she had ma son in Ethan and then I knocked her up _again_ - tha _second time_ we slept together - and with _twins_ too!"

His voice lowered still then, so that only they could hear, and he temporarily allowed his inner Merle to come out and play. "How does it feel havin' to live every day with the knowledge tha' she never has to fake it with me but she did _all _tha damn time with ya? Tha' every time ya ate her out or fucked her, she was thinkin' of _me - _fantasizin_' _of _me_? Tha' every time she "moaned" ya name, she was really screaming mine in her head?" He gave a grin and a laugh then. "How does it feel knowin' I did all of tha' and when _ya _never could - tha' ya could _never_ compare to me!" He gave a laugh before shaking his head. He gave him a look of disgust then as his tone of voice went back to normal so that the others could hear them again. "So why don' ya do yaself a favor and put those teeth away and sit back down, ya impotent, _pathetic_ excuse for a man!"

"Holy shit -!"

"Sam, I wouldn't - _fuck_!"

Daryl felt pain explode in his jaw as Sam's fist collided roughly with it and he stumbled backwards, his hand immediately flying to cradle it as he became immediately shocked at just how hard the guy could hit. For the love of God, Daryl was pretty sure he had popped his jaw out of place!

Sam shook his head as he also shook out his hand but immediately felt his heart sink when Daryl turned his eyes onto him, a look of pure, almost psychotic anger in his eyes. His hand that was still holding his jaw, roughly popped it back into place and he winced slightly at the sharp pain but then shook his head as he began a quick march over to him.

"Oh ya son-of-a-bitch, ya better throw _much _harder punches than those mosquito bites if ya wanna get me on ma ass after the ones I got from ma old man! Now _c__ome here - _I'll _show _ya how a man punches!"

* * *

"What have you been thinking so much about lately?"

Tessa heaved a sigh as she turned to gaze at Wren sitting on the desk across from her in the little quarantined administrative office that would be their home until Daryl and the others arrived back with the antibiotics. The both of them were sitting there, relaxing and completely bored out of their minds as the twins slept soundly in the crib not that far away from them. She gave a shrug and a small smile.

"Just . . . my past has been haunting me a little lately and I don't know why. A lot of it is shit I don't want to remember, too, so that's always a magnificent plus."

"Is it because Sam's back?" Wren asked in interest, and she gave another shrug.

"I don't know. Possibly . . ." She admitted before trailing off and turning her eyes onto the door, where she observed the blurry world beyond the glazed glass window. She moved to rub her face with her hands then. "That or I'm just . . . really, _really_ worried for Daryl and Ethan. Twelve hours in a direction that's been known to be crawling with walkers . . ." She shook her head and gave a dry laugh. "I'm pretty sure I have a right to be worried!"

"They'll be fine. They're with Michonne and the others, so it's not like they're alone." Tessa nodded slowly at her words, having no choice but to glumly agree.

"Yeah, but they're also with _Sam_, and Daryl . . ." She gave another dry laugh. "Daryl isn't exactly known for his restraint when he's around him."

"Well, in Daryl's defense, Sam doesn't exactly do all he can to curb that anger." Wren told her with a laugh as she moved to cross her legs on the desk, and Tessa nodded again in agreement.

"You're right, he doesn't. I don't know why, either . . . personally, if I knew Daryl hated my guts and wanted nothing more but to rip my head from my shoulders, I'd do all I could appease him, not egg him on!" Wren gave her a smile.

"Easy for you to say – you _know _how to calm Daryl down!" She told her and Tessa slowly shook her head.

"Daryl's a Dixon, Wren. Once a Dixon gets mad, there ain't no calming him down. Merle and Will were the same way – Will only made it worse by drinking and Merle . . ." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Merle was always a jackass. And even Daryl's uncle Jess could have an anger issue if you pushed him too much," She sighed. "Anger problems run in that family, Wren - they always have - and I've raised Ethan well enough to know that although he might not actively show it, his anger is there, he's just better at controlling it than his father and uncle and grandfather. However, you push him enough . . ." She trailed off and gave a snort of laughter. "You better be runnin' 'cause that kid's anger rivals a bull seeing red!" She told her before giving her a small smile then. "So, here's my advice to you: if you marry into this illustrious deep Southern family, little girl, like I know you are, then you better know that when the Dixon men get angry, your best bet is to avoid them and let them calm down. Don't get in the middle of 'em, don't try and calm them down . . ." She trailed off again and Wren gave her an interested look.

"You do." She told her and Tessa grinned and let out a laugh as she nodded.

"Yeah . . . yeah, you're right, I do - out of stupidity or not, I've never figured out. But, I _do _know that Daryl would rather rip out his own throat than hurt me trying to get at someone, so yeah . . ." She shrugged and trailed off then and they stayed silent then, especially when they heard the tiny knock tha came at the glass of the door.

"Hey, Tess, are you in there?"

Tessa's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion at Maggie's voice that came through the door and she nodded as she stood and moved over to the door. She could just make out the younger woman's short brown hair and blurred features in the glass and she smiled. "Yeah, Maggie, I'm here; what do you need?"

"I'm just checking up on everyone; do you guys have everything you need?" She asked and Tessa nodded again as she glanced at Wren still sitting on the desk behind her, who also nodded.

"Yeah, we do. Was that it?" She asked and Maggie stayed silent for a moment before she saw her shake her head through the blurry glass.

"I'm . . . I'm worried about Glenn, Tess. What if he . . . what if he goes and I'm not there to say goodbye?" She asked as she gave one of those sniffs that either walked hand-in-hand with sobs or heralded them. Tessa's heart immediately went out to the younger woman, knowing well how she felt. She worried the same thing about Daryl – about Daryl _and _Ethan.

"I'm . . . I'm worried about Daryl and Ethan too, Maggie – so I know what your feeling right now. Hell, we're all worried about someone right now. But we gotta be strong – Daryl, Glenn, Ethan, your father – they'd all want us to be strong right now." Maggie nodded and gave a little laugh.

"You sound like Beth." She told her and Tessa gave a little laugh as well.

"Yeah, well . . . she's speaking the truth, whether we want to hear it or not. We gotta stay strong - we can't be weak right now. You guys okay out there too?" She asked and Maggie nodded.

"Yeah – as good as we can be, I suppose. Carl has security handled and Mikey is feeling a little sick but he thinks all it is, is a little food poisoning from eating one of those cans of beans we had." She told her and Tessa nodded, feeling her heart sink slightly, for a moment fearing the sickness that had taken so many and incarcerated them in Death Row. She heard Maggie tell her the symptoms and she released that uneasy breath in a breath of relief. She nodded.

"Yup, he's right – he's just got a little stomach bug. If it gets any worse, though, you need to tell me, okay? With Hershel and Dr. S in Death Row with the others, I suppose I'm the closest thing you got to a doctor in here, huh?" She spoke with a laugh and Maggie replied with an equal laugh, as well as another nod.

"Yeah, you are and even then what you have is experience!" She muttered and Tessa gave another laugh as well before she gave a confident nod.

"Things will be fine Maggie, I promise. Daryl and the others will be back with the antibiotics in a little under twelve hours and then we can focus on curing the others. Then, we can move on."

"How can you make a promise like that, though, Tess? How do you know things will be okay?" She asked her, and Tessa swallowed hard.

"I don't know, but what I do know – and from personal experience, too - is that sometimes, hope is all you have left to keep you going. And right now, Maggie, if I didn't hope and with how much I'm worrying about Daryl and my son out there - I wouldn't be going right now!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Don't exactly know how to feel about this chapter, to tell you the truth . . . not very fond of the beginning but the middle is decent and the ending came out pretty damn good. And Daryl and Ethan do have one of those little heart-to-heart, father/son talks that everyone seems to go batshit crazy for whenever I include them, so I guess I can't complain too much ;)**

**Oh, and yeah, remember that curve-ball I told you guys was coming and that I couldn't decide if I wanted to include a couple of chapters back? Yeah, its at the end of this chapter and it settles on a little bit of a cliffhanger, so . . . enjoy (also, shit WILL be explained later, so please, hold all cusswords until the END of the next chapter, possibly).**

**HaloHunter89: I think a lot of Sam's motives when it comes to Ethan - Ethan more than Tess, in fact - stem primarily because he IS jealous. Here he is, having raised Ethan since he was born, only to be trumped by a dirty redneck who he met only, what? A year ago? - only to see that they have a better relationship than _anything _Sam could have hoped to achieve with Ethan. And between you, me and the kitchen sink, Wren MIGHT have to assert her dominance over someone in regards to Ethan pretty damn soon (spoiler) ;)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: You and everyone else. But really, the irresponsible parent comment/I raised Ethan comment is the only comment he has that can get to Daryl and even then, I think Daryl is quickly finding that, that comment doesn't bother him nearly as much as used to. See how quickly he recovered from it and snapped back with a pretty damn good comeback?**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks hun :)**

* * *

Red . . .

Red . . .

Red . . .

_He constantly felt Sam give way underneath every punch he threw into his body and felt a dark satisfaction at it. The dark wolf inside him growled appreciatively as a warm, sticky liquid began coating his hands._

_"_Daryl_! Holy shit, Daryl – get _off _of him!"_

_"Fucker - how this for punchin'?!"_

Red . . .

_Black . . ._

Red . . .

_His arms were starting to get tired, but still, the punches came . . . red continued to flood his vision - appearing murky ad violent - like it was pulsating in his field of vision._

_"Tyrese, get over here, we need to get him off of him!"_

_"Shit, I think he's gonna be fine, but -!"_

_"Daryl, _stop_!"_

_"Deddy! Deddy, think of momma – _think of momma_!"_

Red . . .

_Blood was red . . . wasn't it? Or was it black . . .?_

_"First time ya kill a man, son, ya come to a crossroads in ya life – ya learn somethin' 'bout yaself. Ya don' learn what ya capable of, or how bad of a person ya are, or any of that fuckin' bullshit. Ya learn if ya can sleep at night or if ya can'. Ya either haunted by it or ya not . . ."_

_Lips swollen and begging for more, she gazed up him, her still eyes peering up at him, dark from underneath thick black eyelashes . . . she closed her eyes, allowing herself to be washed up in the sensation of his hands running reverently over her body . . . they ran along the smooth expanse of olive-colored flesh stretched out before him, shining against the stark white bedsheets beneath them like a beacon. . . over the smooth swell of her hips (the voluptuous swell that he loved so much) and the smooth plain of her stomach that eventually gave way to the part of her that had housed and then shaped and crafted all three of his children for nine long months, before they eventually reached the smooth mounds of her breasts . . . when one of his hands moved up her collarbone to gently cup her jaw, his fingers moving into the silken strands of her blue-black hair as his thumb lightly traced her bottom lip, she finally opened her eyes and he felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart to hammer away in his chest . . ._

_Her lips silently formed his name as she arched underneath him, fingers digging into his hair, guiding his mouth down to hers . . ._

_There was a sharp ringing in his ears as everything began to come back into focus as his head was filled with images of Tessa . . . and suddenly, the necklace around his neck seemed to be as heavy as a millstone. _

Red . . .

Red . . . why was there so much Red?

_"Is he okay?"_

_"Yeah, we know _he _is, but what about Daryl?"_

_"Holy shit – did _Sam_ do that? _Fuck_!"_

_"Deddy . . . deddy, are you okay? Deddy, answer me - _deddy_!"_

Red . . .

Red . . .

_Pain_ . . .

And then . . . blackness.

* * *

"Hey, you doing okay?"

Daryl glanced at Ethan as he quickened his pace slightly so that he could walk in tandem beside him, and he saw the look of slight nervousness on his face before he nodded stiffly. His head pounded like someone was taking a ball-peen hammer and knocking it repeatedly against the walls of his skull; his whole body ached like he was ninety-years-old and he knew, without a doubt, that at least a couple of his ribs were bruised. He took a moment to observe his hands, still ever-so-slightly stained a dark red. He had tried washing the blood away in the stream a while back, as Tyrese washed the blood from his shirt and as Martin checked over him and Sam, and while a majority of the black and red blood had come off in the fast moving current, the stains still lingered . . . the stains that could not be scrubbed off.

Saying him and Sam had beat the shit out of each other, could be called a _little _bit of an understatement. When Sam's fist had first collided with his jaw, Daryl had done more than just black out. His entire vision had turned a Terminator red and all he could see – all he could _think_ about - was ripping out Sam's throat. And while it was certainly true that Daryl had handed him his ass on a platter before proceeding to continue to stomp it into the ground before Tyrese, Martin and Ethan had managed to drag him off of him, Sam had gotten in a few good punches himself, which accounted for the aches and pains in his ribs, legs and head.

Not-to-mention, he was pretty sure he had lost one of his molars, too, due to the punch that had knocked his jaw out of place.

He gingerly rubbed at his still sharply aching jaw and flexed it slightly, giving a wince when it let out a sharp snap of pain. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Hurt like a bitch and ma entire torso is black and blue, but I'll be fine. We're Dixons - we're fast healers." He told him before glancing at him. "I'm sorry ya had to see tha', though. I-I lost it, ya know? All I could see was red and . . . I wanted nothin' more but to punch him and keep punchin' him until tha lights behind his eyes went out, but . . ." He told him, trailing off, and Ethan gave a shrug and glanced at him.

"Don't worry about it – he had it coming, if you ask me." He told him quietly before glancing over his shoulder at the man in question. Sam looked like a walking, (well, more like limping) talking bag of hamburger meat and was trailing a few meters behind them, separated by Michonne, Martin and Tyrese at all times. "If it means anything, deddy . . . I was rootin' for you the entire time. I mean, yeah, I was acting terrified in front of everyone else, but secretly . . . secretly, I was hoping you'd pound his ass so far into the ground, he'd end up in China!" He told him with a grin and the corners of Daryl's mouth twitched upwards with the bare beginnings of a smile. He wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders and pulled him in a one-armed hug.

"What are ya talkin' 'bout? There was no _way _I was gonna lose to tha' Yankee! I'd never be able to face ya momma again!" Ethan grinned as they fell into a slightly awkward silence then, one that had Daryl glancing at him after a while, his good humor gone. "Ya know . . . ya know tha' I would _never _hurt ya, right? Tha' I would _never _do tha' to ya?" Daryl asked him, his voice firm and slow and Ethan furrowed his brows in confusion as he nodded. "I would never hurt ya _or _tha twins _or _ya momma, Ethan. Yeah, there was tha' one time, but it ain' ever happenin' again, I promise ya tha' -!"

"Deddy, I know." Ethan interrupted him firmly, but gently as he glanced up at him. "You ain't like Grandpa Will – you ain't gonna hurt us. You would rather kill yourself than lay a hand on one of us. Hell, I'm surprised you didn't when you slapped momma that one time." He told him and Daryl let out a scoff, ignoring the fact that Ethan had just called his old man 'grandpa'. Hell, Will Dixon was probably laughing in his grave at that - he had _never _expected to ever become a grandfather.

"_Believe_ me, I debated on it. She done nothin' to deserve tha' and I allowed ma anger to get tha better of me – jus' like I did back then," He shook his head. "I promise ya, Ethan, right here and now, tha', tha' anger ain' ever happenin' again. I ain' _ever_ gonna let maself get tha' bad again - not in front of ya, ya momma or anyone else for tha' matter! Hell, if ya hadn' screamed at me to think of Tess, I prolly wouldn' have come back."

Ethan grinned and nodded as he let out a little laugh. "Deddy, just warning ya now, but you're starting to get a _little _bit too overly-sentimental for my comfort level." He told him and Daryl grinned and let out a laugh as he nodded and released him, where he gently pushed him away.

"Ya right. I don' do overly-sentimental shit anyway – makes me feel icky." Ethan grinned and looked away.

"That's not what I heard from momma a couple of nights back . . ." He continued to grin and Daryl immediately shuddered.

"Ya know, tha's a little creepy – I ain' gonna lie. I mean, it's _kinda_ a little less creepy than me knowin' tha' ya and Wren have sex but knowin' tha' _ya _know tha' me and ya momma do, tha's kinda . . . tha's kinda somethin' I don' wanna think 'bout." He told him and the grin immediately disappeared from Ethan's face, only to be replaced with a wide-eyed look of shock. His eyes flew onto Daryl's and Daryl glanced at him before grinning and rolling his eyes. "Oh come on, Ethan, I ain' ya momma – I ain' gonna bury ma head in the sand and pretend tha two of ya ain' hormone riddled teenagers 'cause tha's easier to do! _Fuck_ tha'!" He laughed before giving a shrug. "Not-to-mention, tha' box of condoms I sneaked ya a few months ago, prolly didn' help matters much, either, so . . ."

"So, ya ain' mad at us?" He asked him, slowly, uncertainly, and Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, I got over it pretty damn quick after I put two and two together. Hell, tha men in our family ain' exactly known for bein' late bloomers, so tha' made me tha weird one. Done forgot when ma old man said he lost his - somewhere overseas when he was in the army, I think, and Merle lost his at twelve – don' ask to tell ya tha story, by the way, it'll scar ya for _life_! But truthfully, I kinda don' care as long as ya two don' make me and ya momma grandparents anytime soon, as well as ya eight month old brother and sister, an aunt and uncle!"

He glanced at Ethan when his son had fallen unnervingly silent at his words, only to see the slightly sick look on his face. He then heaved a sigh as he shook his head. Did all kids look the same way when their parents confronted them with the fact that they knew they were sexually active?

"Look, Ethan," He spoke, his voice uncustomarily gentle as he placed a calming hand on his shoulder. He continued when his son turned his nervous eyes onto him. "If this was ma ideal world, tha' two of ya would have waited until ya were older – next year when tha' both of ya turn sixteen at tha _least_! But I'm smart enough to know tha' this world is different and I know tha' ya could die at any moment and ya learn to cherish what ya have, and . . . fifteen ain' exactly a _good _number but I can settle with it. I jus' . . ." He heaved another sigh. "I jus' hope ya make good decisions and ya use tha brain in ya head tha ya momma spent nine months makin' for ya, instead of ya di -" He immediately stopped when he realized what word was about to fall from his lips and he coughed slightly before continuing: "Tha's why I did what ma old man did with me and jus' handed ya a box of condoms while silently sayin', 'Don' be fuckin' stupid!'. And I know tha's only a temporary solution 'cause everything's a limited resource right now, but . . ." He glanced at him while giving a half-shrug. "Ya a good, smart kid, Ethan and Wren's a pretty amazin' girl tha's become like ma daughter! And I jus' . . . I jus' don' wanna see ya guys get loaded down with more than ya need to right now, okay, and tha' _especially_ includes a baby! So again – _use ya head_ and know tha' pullin' out don' always work and I swear to _God _ya little dipshit, tha' if ya come to me one day and say: 'Deddy, I didn' know she could pregnant when she was on top 'cause of gravity!' I'm gonna feed ya to tha walkers, maself!"

Ethan immediately let out a full-bellied laugh at that before he shook his head in disbelief. "Oh come _on_ deddy, I ain't that stupid! Common sense would tell ya that's bullshit!" He laughed and Daryl shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips again.

"Hey, ya never know – I've heard plenty of stupid shit in ma day. It is awesome to know tha' ma kid _does_ have a brain in his head after all, though!"

"Does momma know?" He asked, changing the subject, and as his voice came out sounding a little sick. Daryl let out a bark of a laugh and frantically shook his head.

"Oh _Hell _no – _I _ain' tha' stupid and I like ma balls swingin' where they are, thank ya very much! Tess would flip her damn lid six ways from Sunday and then proceed to shit enough bricks to make a house! But she's a mother, though, and if it was up to her, tha' two of ya wouldn' be havin' sex 'till tha both of ya reached the age when _we_ first had sex 'cause then after tha', it'd be hypocritical. But me, I'm a man – I know how men think, _includin'_ teenage boys, 'cause let's face it: men remain teenage boys all their lives! I know tha' at ya age, tha' best thing ya can do as a parent, is jus' make sure tha' they know what they're doin' and tha' they're _safe_!" Ethan nodded and looked away.

"Thanks, by the way . . ." He told him quietly, his voice trailing off and Daryl nodded.

"Ya welcome. I'm jus' tryin' to be a good dad."

Ethan grinned. "What are ya talkin' 'bout – ya tha best dad I could ever have wished for!"

Daryl continued to grin, although he couldn't help but feel his chest puff out a little bit at the comment. He knew damn good and well that Sam couldn't testify the same thing. "Tha's not what ya said when we first met." He reminded him and Ethan shook his head.

"Yeah, well, I was stupid back then." He muttered and Daryl gave a little laugh.

"Don' kid yaself, Ethan - ya still incredibly stupid; it comes with the territory of being young . . ."

He trailed off when they found themselves coming up on a ramshackle, corrugated iron building that looked vaguely like a garage or a gas station. Daryl slowed to a stop in front of a fallen over tree, Ethan stopping beside him. Martin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he moved to join them.

"You see something?" He asked him and Daryl nodded as he handed his crossbow off to Ethan.

"Yeah, maybe – here, help me with this . . ."

Martin nodded as the two of them grasped a handful of branches and pulled, revealing the clear Plexiglas windshield of a van sitting underneath the collapsed tree. The tree had hit the roof of the structure beside it, which kept it from crushing it. In fact, it was in damn near perfect shape.

Daryl nodded as he took back his crossbow. The others had joined them by then, Sam doing well to give him as wide a berth as possible, and Daryl glanced at them. "Keep pullin' off the branches – Ethan, come with me."

They nodded as Ethan and Daryl moved towards the driver and passenger seats. "Ever wanted to learn how to hotwire an automatic?" He asked him and Ethan immediately broke out into a grin - a grin that told Daryl he was about to earn even more points in the 'Awesome Dad' category.

"Are you serious?"

"Couldn' fuckin' hurt. Ya never know when ya might need to in this day and age . . ."

He had gotten open the plastic covering underneath the steering wheel by then, and was reaching into the dark space, where he pulled out a big clump of wires like a walker would guts from a stomach. "Now, don' kid yaself - hotwirin' a car is pretty damn dangerous. Now, ya take these two wires, here, ya see?" He began as he picked up a red wire and a black wire. Ethan nodded as he kept his eyes on what his father was doing, listening intently. "Then ya rub tha metal strips together – hopin' a spark catches 'tween 'em . . ." He trailed off and tried it for a minute, eventually heaving a sigh when nothing happened and he tossed them down in irritation. "If a spark catches, it starts tha car. But tha battery's dead, so shit."

"What about a stick?" He asked and Daryl nodded.

"They're a little bit different – I'll have to show ya how to do them on tha Jeep when we get back to the prison." He told him and Ethan nodded as they ducked out of the car and moved to stand with the others. "We gotta find us a new battery . . ." He told them and a look of irritation and exhaustion swept across Michonne's face as hands slamming against the nearby dusty window had them all jumping in alarm. Daryl's mouth thinned as he pursed his lips. "It looks like we have friends inside. Come on – we'll clear a path to get inside so we can look for tha' battery. We ain' gettin' out of here til we find it." He told them as he led them to the front of the building and began pulling off the branches and ivy that had become so overgrown to the point to where they covered the entrance for a good two to three feet. The others took out their knives and machetes – Michonne, her sword – and began hacking.

Ethan, who had found himself buried in his thoughts as he hacked and pulled away the branches and ivy, was brought back down into reality when Daryl's voice came from beside him and which was directed primarily towards Tyrese hacking a little more roughly than was needed. "Hey man, take it easy, won' ya? We don' know what we're dealin' with . . ."

Ethan couldn't help but silently agree with his father and even went so far as to recognize the spark of uncertainty that sounded in his head as he stood there and watched Tyrese hack into the branches. Was that . . . could he hear rustling . . .?

After a moment, Tyrese must have gotten his machete hooked on something, because after a good few yanks, he stumbled backwards when whatever it had been, finally gave. Wires clung to the pointed edge of his machete and he quickly unwrapped them as the rest of them went back to their hacking. Now Ethan was _sure _he heard rustling in the branches and when he turned his eyes onto Daryl to see if he heard them too, he knew from the ever-so-slight look of concentration in his eyes, that he had.

"Hey, hey, Tyrese, stop for a moment, will ya? I think I heard something -"

Ethan was suddenly interrupted by snarling walkers appearing out of the brush like a damn Wac-A-Mole game. Ethan, Sam and Michonne jumped out of the way just in time as one of them latched onto Martin while another grasped Tyrese's arms. The last one had a firm handhold of Daryl's vest and Michonne quickly severed the hand of the walker holding Daryl as Ethan slammed his knife into its head. They then moved on to rescue Martin and just had him freed, right when Tyrese fell back, the walker that had a hold on him, promptly falling on top of him. Daryl yanked him off him and Martin immediately stepped forward to put a bullet through his head. Daryl helped him to his feet and Michonne immediately stepped up to him.

"Why the Hell didn't you let go?" She demanded and Tyrese, chest heaving, simply gazed at her before stalking off.

* * *

"Hey, honey, how you feeling?"

The little boy lying dwarfed in the covers that covered one of the couches in one of the administrative offices a few rooms down from the one she shared with the twins and Wren, smiled a small, weak smile, as well as his older brother who sat a little ways away from them. "I'm fine, Mrs. Tess."

"No aches and pains – no coughing?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Nope. My stomach just really hurts." He answered and she looked towards his brother in confirmation. He nodded.

"He's right. He hasn't been coughing, but he's been throwing up a lot. That and he's . . . using the bathroom a lot too." He told him and Tessa nodded sagely.

"Don't worry then, it's not the virus. He must have got a spot of food poisoning from something he ate, that's all. I know a couple of people that's happened to over the last few weeks. Make sure he drinks a lot – keeps his fluids up and make sure he gets plenty of rest. He should be fine by tomorrow morning or the day after with a few good night's rest." She told him before smiling a small smile, where she smoothed his hair out of his eyes. She meant it as a calming gesture but it was also something else - a way to subtly check for other symptoms. She let out a breath of relief when she didn't find anything. He wasn't feverish – just a little food poisoning. "You're going to be fine, Mikey, okay?" She told him and he nodded and gave her another small smile.

"Thanks for checking on me, Mrs. Tess." He told her and she smiled and nodded as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead before getting to her feet. His brother followed her to the door and he gave her a thankful smile as well.

"Thanks, Tess. It means a lot to us, you coming down here." She smiled and nodded.

"That's what I'm here for, isn't it, Travis? To watch over everyone cause Hershel or Dr. S can't?" She asked and he nodded as they exchanged goodbyes before she allowed him to duck back into the office to continued tending his little brother. She stood there and heaved a weary sigh, her hand flying to her head. She closed her eyes and tried not to allow the dizziness she felt, overtake her. She opened them when she heard the thud of boot-heels on the floor coming towards her, and smiled when she saw Maggie heading towards her, towels, body soap and shampoo in her hands.

"The twins have gotten their bath and Wren is feeding them now. I brought these for you – thought you might want to take a shower too." She told her when she had crossed the distance between them, and Tessa gave her a relieved smile.

"Thanks – your right, I do! I feel like Daryl after an all-day hunting spree!" She told her with a laugh and Maggie smiled and wrinkled her nose up.

"Yeah, that's pretty rank – you might wanna go." She joked and Tessa smiled and nodded as she headed down the corridors towards the administrative showers, Maggie walking beside her. "How was Mikey?"

"Oh he was fine. He's got a little food poisoning, but that seems the extent of it. He's not feverish, he's not achy – he's just . . . throwing up and using the bathroom a lot, if you get my meaning." Maggie nodded.

"That's what I thought, but me and Travis wanted to make sure. We don't want the virus ending up in here in someway. That's the last thing daddy needs." Tessa nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I know. I like my little freedoms here – I don't relish going into absolute quarantine in that office until Daryl and the others get back."

Maggie nodded. "By the way, Carol and Rick are going out on a run, so its just going to be me, you and Carl to hold down the fort." She told her and Tessa's eyebrows furrowed in slight interest.

"Is that . . . is that wise right now?" She asked her and Maggie shrugged her shoulders in indifference, although Tessa could see in her eyes that she had her doubts too.

"Rick seemed pretty adamant about it and I . . . I didn't feel like refuting him, you know?" Tessa nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She answered her quietly as they reached the door to the bathroom. "What are you doing now?"

"Gonna go take watch. Someone has to do it and it . . . it takes my mind off of things." She told her and Tessa nodded as she placed a hand on her shoulder, where she smiled comfortingly.

"Things are going to be alright, Maggie. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, remember that." She told her and Maggie nodded, heaving a sigh as she did so.

"I hope your right, Tess," She told her before smiling. "Enjoy your shower."

Tessa smiled and nodded as the younger woman turned around and headed for the doorway leading to the outside world. She then turned and headed through the door leading to the showers, closing it gently behind her. She placed her towels on a nearby slightly dusty chair before moving into one of the little darkened cubicles, where she cut on the water. She stepped out of the way just in the nick of time and held out her hand to feel the temperature of the water. It came out lukewarm - not exactly as hot as she would have desired, but then again not exactly cold enough as to where taking a shower would almost be downright impossible.

Heaving another sigh, she unclipped her hair, shaking out her vast wealth of ebony colored curls before placing the clip on the shower's linoleum wall. She then pulled off her clothes, throwing them into a pile beside the pile of towels sitting on the chair. She picked up a wash cloth and the bottles of shampoo and body wash, before stepping underneath the spray. She shivered for a moment but quickly grew used to the temperature as she ducked underneath it, her hands smoothing over her slicked back hair as she closed her eyes.

She washed and rinsed her hair, relishing in the scent of apples as it filled the air around her, and it wasn't until she bent down to pick up the bottle of body wash at her feet, that she noticed the blood flooding the linoleum floor of the shower around her feet. At first, she didn't know where the blood was coming from, until she looked further down and saw it running down the insides of her thighs along with the water that cascaded down her body as well.

"What the fuck . . .?" She murmured to herself, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. It wasn't her wrong time of the month and as far as she knew, she hadn't sustained an injury of any sort, so why the Hell could she be bleeding?

Unless . . .

Tessa's eyes grew wide with shock and immediately began shaking her head. Her hands flew between her legs and when she brought them back into view, she found them covered in watered down blood. "Oh no . . . oh no, _fuck _no – that's _impossible_!"

It was then, as she squatted there, struck dumb with disbelief, that the massive pain originating in her stomach, hit her with the speed of a Mach truck. Immediately, she crumpled in on herself, her eyes squeezing shut with pain as she folded her arms across her stomach and rocked herself back and forth on her heels, trying to will the pain away.

What. The fuck?

"You . . . have _got _to be fuckin' kidding me!" She hissed as more and more blood seemed to flood from between her legs, accompanied by another sharp, almost crippling pain in her lower stomach.

_No . . . no, I can't be having one . . .not _another _one! _

_Not with Daryl's . . ._


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, I don't do this very often anymore, but this chapter IS dedicated to HaloHunter89, a very loyal fan whose super long, amazing review a couple of chapters back, gave me the amazing idea for this flashback chapter. Hope ya like it honey, because I sweated over a hot keyboard to give you guys this! ;)  
**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Thank ya, I plan to :)**

**scoobydoo0811: Just keep reading - there's more to it than ya think :)  
**

**HaloHunter89: I'm glad at least one of you reviewed telling me about how you liked the "fight scene". I didn't know how I wanted to do it at first and I'm happy that how I did end up doing it, struck a chord. I didn't think an outright fight would have been the right thing to do and I didn't want to skip over the fight too, so I kinda went with the middle ground. "Bunch of rough, sweet-talkin' fellas" - Probably one of my favorite lines of any review I have gotten LOL. As for the girl fight - gonna have to wait for that :)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Just keep reading! Not all is what it seems . . .**

**PS: Daryl might be kind of a dick in this chapter. But like anyone cares. Also Merle comes back briefly and for those of you who catches the Blade II reference I made in here, you get brownie points ;)**

* * *

_Eleven Years Ago . . ._

_"Hey, welcome to JT's, just have a seat wherever you like – holy _shit_! Tess, is that _you_?!"_

_ Tessa grinned and nodded as she shifted Ethan to her other hip and continued to stand there uneasily in the doorway to Shooter's Mill's only bar/diner, the dull light that was shining on her from the dusty windows and the lights hanging above them, were hazy with cigarette smoke. The waitress standing behind the bar who had once been one of Tessa's good friends, as well as JT, the bartender, the owner, Tessa's old boss and finally, one of the only father figures she had while growing up, gazed at her, mouths held agape with shock._

_ "Hey Medina, hey JT. Long time, so see, right?" She spoke, her voice quiet and slightly apologetic for being gone so long without a word, and the both of them glanced at each other before dropping everything and immediately making their way around the counter. They quickly crossed the distance between them, where they each hugged her tightly, always remaining aware of the little boy being carried on her hip. When they broke apart, she saw tears shining in their eyes. _

_ "Holy shit, girlie - we thought ya were dead!" JT finally spoke and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a grinning Medina held out her hands._

_ "May I hold him, Tess? He's jus' the most _scrumptious_ little thing . . .!" She asked her and Tessa smiled and nodded._

_ "Oh yeah, sure – here. He's been in the car all morning, so he might be a little energetic . . ." Medina nodded as she shifted Ethan over to the ever-so-slightly older African American woman as she turned a still confused look onto JT. "Why did you guys think I was dead?"_

_ JT gestured her to come take a seat at the bar and she did just that as he reached underneath for a glass, where he then filled it with coke from the nearby machine. He slid it to her and she took it gratefully as he moved to fill up a pitcher of beer for another customer. Tessa, meanwhile, ran her eyes over JT's constantly growing "Hall of Memories" situated behind the bar, which was, in actuality, just a large corkboard covered in a massive amount of pictures – some faded and some brand new. A majority of them, though, were pictures from Tessa's scant highschool years, when the town had been overrun with teenagers wanting nothing more but to see Shooter's Mill in their rearview mirrors as they left as soon as they graduated. However, those wants turned out to be simple pipe dreams. _

_ Her eyes found the picture quite easily – the picture that JT had tacked up there the morning after the highschool's Homecoming Football game with its rival, and which had been taken at one of the town's numerous tailgate parties before. It was a picture of a much younger, extremely handsome Daryl (something that was often vehemently denied by him) sitting on the hood of a big, black and very beautiful Jeep Wrangler YJ (Daryl had always been a Jeep Wrangler nut - _always_). A much younger Tessa was standing in front of him and the Jeep, and in-between his parted legs. The both of them were wearing the same huge, almost dopey grins on their faces that they always had when they were around each other, as Daryl hugged her tightly from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder. _

_ Tessa smiled a small smile of nostalgia and moved to lean on her elbow on the polished surface of the bar, her chin moving to rest in the palm of her hand as she continued to gaze at the picture for a moment longer. JT had always told her when she worked there, that she was the best thing that had ever happened to Daryl Dixon – despite what his father said when he was drunk. She had gotten him to graduate when he had originally wanted to drop out, as well as been the one thing that had kept him on the same straight and narrow that his brother had taken a U-turn off of. She had gotten him his first job at Ansel's Garage right across the street, and for a while, they were the Golden Couple of Shooter's Mill, to the point to where old ladies would stop her in the street or in one of the shops and grinningly ask when the wedding was whenever they noticed the engagement ring on her finger, as well as how soon they could expect to see the next generation of Dixons afterwards._

_ Tessa doubted that Daryl and his family had ever heard the same words being spoken with as much excitement and happiness, as they were whenever Tessa found herself accosted, with or without Daryl. _

_ But of course, they all knew there had been no wedding, nor any future generation of Dixons (in Shooter's Mill, anyway). She could only imagine the town's shock when it got out that Tessa Nightrun had left Shooter's Mill for good . . . and without the man that she had seemed to love so much._

_ JT returned her a minute or two later. "That's a good lookin' son ya got there with ya, girlie. Looks the spittin' image of a certain Dixon, too . . ." He told her and she nodded and smiled. It was no use lying to JT – he wasn't a dumb man and Tessa didn't think she had ever met a more observant one._

_ "Yeah . . . yeah, I know, right?" She asked him as she took a sip of her coke. JT nodded._

_ "The reason we thought ya were dead, was because when ya left, Merle went around and told everyone that you had died in a car accident comin' back from Atlanta." He told her and she furrowed her eyebrows in both shock and confusion this time. _

_ "Are you serious?" He nodded solemnly. She had never known JT Wallace to lie._

_ "As serious as a heart attack, girlie. But little did we know that ya had simply left . . . _pregnant_ . . . with his younger brother's little rugrat." Tessa nodded slowly and a little sheepishly. _

_ "Yeah, and I know how it looks, JT, but there is a reason why I left, I promise you!" JT nodded sagely, his eyes softening._

_ "I know, girlie, I know. Merle isn't exactly the easiest man to live with and if there is a reason why ya left like I know there is – 'cause I _know ya, _Tess, and ya wouldn' have left Daryl without a damn good reason - then it's 'cause of Merle."_

_ "How . . . how is he, JT?" She finally got up the courage to ask, swallowing hard as she did so. Her voice had lowered as well and the older man knew she was talking about Daryl. He nodded slowly as his eyes moved to train on something on the opposite wall._

_ "He's . . ." He trailed off before heaving a sigh. "I won' lie to ya, Tess, he's had a few run-ins with the law over the years since ya left. Mainly, it's been public intoxication and a few minor drug possession and distribution charges, but then . . ." He told her, trailing off again and when he started talking again, Tessa's eyes widened slightly in growing horror and sadness. "There are also the assault and battery charges . . ." He shook his head, his eyes sad as he turned them back onto her. "His life took a swan-dive into the shitter when ya left him, Tess. First time I ever saw him come in here to get drunk, was the day he realized ya left him. It was also when his first assault charge _could_ have been filed against him but the Sheriff let him off with a warnin' on account of ya and the good behavior ya inspired in him over the years. The next night, though, he came in again, got drunk again and then really did have an assault charge filed against him."_

_ "What happened?"_

_ "Ya know yourself, Tess, that Shooter's Mill ain' exactly a large town – shit has a tendency to get around fast here. So by that time – even a day or two later - it was pretty damn apparent that ya had left him for whatever reason, and split town. This was before Merle came up with his little plan to tell everyone that ya had died on the way back from Atlanta and maybe if he had come up with it a little sooner, maybe Daryl would have nearly as many assault and battery charges stacked up against him as he does. Well, when he got drunk and it was pretty damn apparent that he was drunk, one of the other drunken assholes in here decided that he wanted to pick a fight with Will Dixon's youngest. Ya know yaself that's probably a stupid move in and of itself, speakin' Dixons are formidable fighters sober, however, when you put liquor in their system . . .!" He shook his head. "Ya don' wanna piss 'em off!"_

_ "What was said?" She asked and JT's lips pursed slightly before he leaned further into her, his voice lowering._

_ "The asshole told him that maybe the reason ya left him, was because he wasn' stickin' it to ya good enough." _

_ Tessa immediately flinched, knowing damn good and well just why that had made Daryl go off. The last time they had slept together, had been the night she left him. So it was understandable that cracks like that would really get to him. _

_ JT shook his head. "And once these drunken asshole figured out that they could get to him with any crack said against ya, it didn' matter how many times they saw him hand the poor sap in question his ass on a platter, they hardly didn't stop! Daryl hadn't exactly been popular before ya came here, Tess, and ya comin' here and then hookin' up with him as quickly as ya did, certainly didn' help matters either."_

_ "Why?" She asked in confusion, and JT rolled his eyes._

_ "Every jackass that came in here and started shit with him, Tess, was those asshole jocks in highschool that had always been jealous that 'a piece of white trash shit like Daryl Dixon, ever managed to get ya – one of the prettiest girls in school' – and those were some of their own words, too!"_

_ "So, what has he been up to lately?" She asked and JT promptly raised an inquiring brow._

_ "Do you mean before or _after_ he lost his job at Ansel's?" _

_ Tessa's mouth fell open in shock. "He _lost_ his job at Ansel's? He loved that job – Hell, Ansel looked at him as his own son!" She told her and he nodded._

_ "It broke his heart to do so, but yup. Daryl just . . . stopped comin' in after a while, accordin' to Ansel. Best damn mechanic he had since he opened and he had to let him go 'cause he wasn' doin' his job and Ansel was losin' money."_

_ Tessa shook her head. "Well what's he doin' now?"_

_ JT grimaced. "Rumor has it that he's dealin' drugs now, Tess, which accounts for the couple of drug possession and distribution charges he has against it. There's also a rumor that he's makin' and growin' his own product too so he can cut out the middleman." _

_ "And he hasn't been caught yet?"_

_ "No one knows how he's avoided the cops until now but he has. He's smart, Tess." _

_ She nodded vaguely. "Yeah . . . yeah, he always has been." She muttered as Medina finally returned to them, a broad grin on her face as she bounced Ethan up and down on her hip._

_ "Tessa, darlin', he is the most _adorable_ thing on the entire planet, I swear to God! What's his name?" Tessa smiled a small smile and glanced at JT._

_ "Ethan. His name is Ethan _Daryl_ Dixon."_

_ JT smiled a small, amused smile as Medina immediately stopped bouncing Ethan on her hip, only to turn another look of gaping shock onto her. "Ethan . . . Ethan Daryl . . . _Dixon_?" She repeated, and Tessa nodded as JT reached out and smoothed his hand over the blue-black downy hair covering Ethan's head. _

_ "Never thought ya'd live to see the day where a Dixon this young would walk through that door, huh, Medina?" He asked with a laugh and she jerkily nodded as she continued to glare at Tessa._

_ "You . . . you had Daryl's son and you let no one know?"_

_ Once again, Tessa felt a stab of guilt and she opened her mouth to explain – to explain to them just _why_ she had left and that she had absolutely no idea she was pregnant when she left because the night they had conceived Ethan was the night she _had_ left, but the words didn't come. They refused to come, in fact._

_The door opened behind her and immediately, she saw JT's lips purse in irritation. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her body tensed when she heard His voice. _

_ "Hey JT, how's it hangin'? Same shit different day?"_

_ There was a silence for a moment, a silence in which JT made no reply, before He must have realized she was there. She could just sense the grin that spread across His face when he saw her. She heard him laugh as he sauntered over to the bar, where he leaned on it on his elbow beside her. _

_ "Well, well, well, if it ain' Tessa - a bonafide walkin', talkin' zambie, ain' ya, sweetpea?"_

_ Tessa's eyes were full of hatred as she turned them onto Merle Dixon. "I wouldn't know about that, Merle, but from what JT's done told me, you know plenty, don't you?" Merle gave a casual shrug. _

_ "I did what I had to in order to drag ma baby brother outta tha fog ya abandonment left him in." Tessa gave him a glare._

_ "I did not _abandon _him!" She snarled and his eyebrows immediately rose in surprise._

_ "Oh ya didn', did ya? So ya fuckin' him and then leavin' him in the middle of the night without an explanation, could not be classified as abandonment?" Tessa bit down on her bottom lip. All this time she'd been gone – all this time without making any sort of contact with Daryl – she had not once considered what she had done to him, as 'abandonment'. She didn't know why, but it wasn't exactly the first word that popped into her head whenever she thought back on what she done. She always said 'left' or 'dumped him' if she was feeling bitter about something – _never _'abandoned'. To her, you 'abandoned' someone in a life-threatening situation. _

_ But even that rationalization sounded lame to her ears._

_ Merle heaved a sigh and it was then, that his eyes landed on Ethan sitting on the bar beside her. His eyebrows immediately knitted together in interest as he gazed at him. "Now, who's this little guy?" He asked and Tessa gave him a tense smile._

_ "He's your nephew, Merle." She told him and the look he gave her was one of ever-so-slight anger. He straightened up slightly, his body thrumming with anger._

_ "Ya left ma baby brother and never bothered to tell him ya were expectin' his _son_?" He shook his head. "Ya don' walk out on a man carryin' his only son, Tess – ya don' do it!"_

_ "You think I wanted to, you son-of-a-bitch?" She hissed to him, anger snapping in her eyes as she got up from her barstool and moved to face him, her voice lowering substantially. JT must have noticed because he gently wrapped a hand around Medina's upper arm, where he steered her in the direction of the other side of the bar. Tessa quickly grabbed up Ethan so that he would fall off the bar with JT and Medina leaving them, and propped him on her hip. Her eyes had remained on Merle's the entire time though and anger remained in her eyes as she shook her head. "_You _forced me to leave, Merle, after what you done to me in the barn! And for your information, Ethan was conceived the _night _I left! I had no idea I was pregnant until about a month went by!"_

_ "And ya think tha' justifies this, sweetpea, huh?" He asked her, anger causing his hands to ball into fists at his side. He let out a laugh and rolled his eyes. "For the love of God, ya could pick this kid out as Daryl's in a fuckin' line-up!" He shook his head. "And I don' regret what I did, but -!"_

_ "But _what_, you fucking asshole?" She hissed, interrupting him mid-sentence, and he shook his head._

_ "Why are ya back here, Tess? Ya left – ya got outta here but now ya back and for what? Are ya here to see Daryl again? Tell him ya have his son and ya want to be with him again?" He shook his head as he changed the subject, giving a shrug afterwards. "What makes ya think he does want ya back, sweetpea? What makes ya think he even _loves_ ya anymore?" _

_ Tessa balked at that. Why exactly _had _she come back? She had rationalized it by coming to see all her old friends and get in touch with those she unfairly left and it _had _occurred to her that word would eventually spread around town that Tessa had been back and when that happened, it would also eventually get to him. And really, it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision and really, she didn't know _if_ she wanted to see Daryl or not. _

_ She shook her head. "I have his son, Merle -"_

_ "Yeah, well Tess, if ya went to see him, then ya could call yaself a home wrecker, 'cause he's got himself a family now too."_

_ Tessa's face paled. "W-what . . .?" She asked and Merle nodded as he hooked his hand underneath her arm, where he steered her in the direction of the door, where he opened it. He pointed across the street towards Ansel's Garage, only to see Daryl standing in front of the lowered tailgate of his truck, a woman standing in front of him – a woman who looked the epitome of the opposite of Tessa. Platinum blonde hair, willowy, almost rakish figure and what she could tell was bright blue eyes, the woman was currently lip-locked with her man._

_ Or . . . the man that _had _been her man . . . _

_ Tessa numbly shook her head and Daryl gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Sorry, sweet-pea . . . but everyone moves on eventually." _

_She glanced at him and turned back to gaze at the both of them for a moment before she shoved past Merle and walked quickly down the street towards where she had parked, JT and Medina both shouting in alarm after her. Tessa hadn't heard them, though. All she could hear was the rush of blood in her ears and all she could feel was the prickling of tears in her eyes as she held her son close and as her heart snapped in two in her chest._

* * *

_ "Hey, you . . .!"_

_ It was a particularly hot, balmy day, as Daryl sat on his lowered tailgate in the parking lot beside Ansel's Garage, waiting for Merle to get done with whatever he had to do in JT's across the street. He arched a brow inquiringly as he looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a tall, willowy blonde woman making her way over towards, walking shakily over the gravel on sky-high heels. He rolled his eyes and mentally cursed, especially when he saw the flirtatious smile on her face. Jesus Christ, not this bitch again._

_ "What do ya want, April?" He growled and she gave him a grin and a light laugh._

_ "Ya didn't call me last night. Ya said ya would." _

_ "I was busy. I had shit to do." _

_ "Well, that's funny, 'cause . . . ya've said that for the past four days." Daryl gave a laugh and nodded as he took out a cigarette and stuck it in-between his lips. He lit it and took a drag before he took it away. _

_ "Yeah, well, I've been busy for the last four days. It's not exactly unheard of – somethin' tha' happens a lot when ya grow up." _

_ April shook her head. "Daryl, I don' like bein' led around, ya now? And doin' this with ya – this takes me off the market -!"_

_ "_This_?" He interrupted with a laugh. He grinned and shook his head. "Darlin', we ain' doin' _nothin'_! Hell, we only slept together _once _and I hate to say it, but ya weren' exactly tha' best lay I've ever had and likewise, I wasn' exactly givin' ya tha' best _I_ could have given ya, so . . ." He gave a shrug. "Don' know why ya so hung up on me, to tell ya the truth. It's not like I slapped somethin' on ya that's makin' ya come back. Not-to-mention, I don' want anythin' from ya and besides, ya graduated what? Last year?" She nodded and he let out a sarcastic scoff. "That only makes it worse. And, jus' to let ya know . . ." He threw a glance her way. "When ya drunk and ya get picked _up_ drunk in a bar, typically, it's not by a guy who wants commitment with ya ass!"_

_ He could see the hurt look that speared through her eyes, but felt nothing. There was only one woman for him and unfortunately, that woman was God only knew where._

_ "Is this about _her_?" April suddenly asked and Daryl's snapped onto her, where they vibrated with a sudden angry intensity. _

_ "Ya say anythin' bad 'bout her and I swear to God, April, I'll cut ya off!"_

_ There was a look of fear that speared through her eyes then before it disappeared and Daryl smirked. Never fuck or end up fucking your drug dealer - it always ended up blowing up in your face._

_ She shook her head. "I wasn' gonna. I was just gonna say that she had to be a right amazin' woman to have the ability to hold ya attention all these years . . ." She trailed off and Daryl nodded stiffly, finding himself wishing and praying that Merle would hurry up and get done with whatever he was doing so he could away from her and _stay _away from her until she was calling him needing her next fix. Stupid damn meth whore; only good thing about her was her Preacher daddy's money._

_ "She was. Prolly the best damn woman I've ever had, too."_

_ "Is that why you murmured her name when ya were in bed with me – when ya came? Was it 'Tessa'?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in interest as she took a few steps towards her and his eyes snapped onto her again. He slowly shook his head as she continued on: "Is she the woman you're with in the picture at JT's – the one of you on the Jeep? If so, I don' blame ya . . . she's gorgeous!" _

_ "Ya have no right sayin' her name and ya have no right talkin' 'bout her!" He told her, his voice hard, quiet and cold, and his eyes angry. "She was a better woman than ya will _ever _be!" _

_ "Do you think of her every time ya in bed with another woman?" _

_ Daryl's jaw hardened and his teeth gritted. He looked away as he felt a migraine start to beat away in his head. Come _on_, Merle! _

_ "Every time the woman I'm with don' do anythin' for me." He replied to her, his voice a little snappish and terse, but she could tell by his stiff, slightly angry posture, that, that was a lie. Why else would it be blatant knowledge that every woman Daryl Dixon took home from the bar, should expect to have sex while bent over something? Daryl Dixon was not a loving man and sex with him should not be expected to be loving and gentle. It was well known for its roughness and brutality – the kind of sex you had when you either wanted to get another man out of your head or you were just in the mood to get used and then left there like a soiled napkin._

_ His life had become empty without Tessa . . . empty and dark and no amount of drugs, alcohol and sex would be able to fill that emptiness. _

_ Maybe this is what people called, 'depression'. _

_ "Ya know, everyone says ya've become just like ya brother and ya father ever since she left ya," She told him, her voice quiet and soothing as she started clearing the distance between them. He let out another scoff of amusement. It was funny, this little teenybopper standing beside him, saying he was like his father when she didn't even_ know _Will Dixon. Just went to show him how no one could keep their mouths shut in this shitty little town.__ "But I think ya just misunderstood."_

_ Daryl let out a laugh as he turned his eyes onto her, watching as she finally closed the distance between them. "Oh, really?" She nodded._

_ "Absolutely. Ya just need another woman to get her out of ya head."_

_ One of Daryl's eyebrows arched in amusement. "And ya think ya tha' woman, huh, April?" He asked her and she gave a sheepish smile before giving a shrug. _

_ "Well . . . maybe . . . if ya let me . . ."_

_Daryl could remember, clear as day, their first night up in the barn – the night where him and Tessa had slept together for the first time. He remembered the way his heart had pounded so hard in his chest that it hurt, and the way his breathing had torn ragged from his lungs as he lay there on the mattress, hands digging into the sheet underneath him and fisting into the clothe until his knuckles turned white. He didn't act that way because she was blowing him, or climbing on top of him with the intention of lowering herself down onto him (the sheer mind-blowingness of those things came later) - no, he was acting that way, because of one completely simple reason:_

_ She had been standing in front of him, body outlined in the low, dim light coming from the kerosene lantern not that far away from them, about to slip her dress down her – even then – voluptuous frame._

_ That was it._

_ He had been lying there, about to go into cardiac arrest, because the most beautiful damn woman in the entire world was about to get naked in front of him for the first time and he didn't know if he could take it. And even later, the 5th, 10th - even the 100th time they slept together - Tessa always made him sit or lie down fully clothed while she undressed in front of him, simply for the reason that she knew how badly it fucked him up in the head to have to sit there and watch her. _

_ And until a woman could make him do the same thing _every _time they got ready to go to bed with each other just like he had with Tessa, he wouldn't move on – he _refused _to move on._

_ Daryl grinned and shook his head. He gave out a laugh as he took another drag of his cigarette. "April, hun, ya'll never be able to compare to her, so don' even try. Go find yaself a good guy, get offa tha drugs and most of all – get out of this good-for-nothin', Podunk town. I'm not who ya want." She nodded stubbornly as a look of slight confusion on her face._

_ "But . . . you _are _who I want, Daryl!" She told him and he shook his head, giving a roll of his eyes as he did so._

_ "_No_, I'm _not_, April! I'm a fuckin' asshole and I'll treat ya like shit 'cause ya not tha woman I want! Ya ain' gonna change me, ya ain' gonna . . ." He waved his hand through the air in irritation. "Ya ain' gonna make me move on and ya ain' gonna make me fall in love with ya the more drugs ya buy offa me! Ya wastin' ya breath with me – ya wastin' ya _time _with me, April! The only reason ya want me is 'cause ya think ya can _fix _me and I can ya right now tha' the only woman who can _fix _me is God only knows where out there and ya ain' her! Ya also want me 'cause ya think it'd somehow be glamorous if ya were known here as Daryl Dixon's 'girl'." He shook his head. "Ya ain' fixin' me, April, and ya ain' gonna be my girl. Now go do what I said and leave me the fuck alone. I ain' sellin' to ya anymore either."_

_ April stood there for a moment, at a loss for what to say for a moment before shaking her head. "Ya know, when I first saw ya, I thought ya were . . . I thought ya were amazin'!" She told him and he let out a scoff._

_ "Don' know why."_

_ "Me either," She admitted with a laugh. "I just saw how bad ya were hurtin' and I thought that maybe I could help ya get over whoever had done that to ya. But ya right – I can see now that ya won' ever get over her. Ya'll keep yaself miserable and alone until the day _possibly _rolls around where she steps back in ya life again." She shook her head. "And that ain' no way to live, Daryl, it ain'! Human bein's ain' made to be lonely – they ain' made to live without love."_

_ Daryl glanced at her, his voice cold when he addressed her. "Why are ya still here?"_

_ April shook her head then. "Don' worry, I'm 'bout to walk away and ya won' ever see me again, I promise ya that! But can I get somethin' first?"_

_ "I ain' sellin' right now."_

_ "It ain' drugs I'm wantin', Daryl."_

_ Daryl turned a look of interest onto her then. "Then what is it?" _

_ April smiled a small smile as she stepped closer to him, her hand moving to grip his neck. "Can I at least have a kiss? And not one of those stupid little pecks on the lips, either – a genuine kiss - one that ya would give her? I want to know at least a pale shadow of the love ya hold for her."_

_ Daryl gazed at her for a moment before eventually heaving an exasperated sigh and nodding. He stepped off of the tailgate and motioned for her to step closer to her. "Fine – come here. But after I do this, I expect to never see or hear from ya again, ya understand?" She quickly nodded and he pursed his lips and stood there, steeling himself for a moment, before he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her to him, where he pressed his lips to hers. It started out as a slow, passionate kiss that was already making her knees week, however, when it grew much deeper upon her opening her mouth to him so that his tongue could slip inside her mouth, it made her head positively swim. Who knew this man could kiss so well?_

_ Daryl, however, was counting down the seconds until she released him for air and he could push her away. Her smell was not Tessa's – the way she tasted, which was not all-together bad – was not how Tessa tasted. The bony hips his hands were holding were not the smooth swell of Tessa's. Everything about this girl screamed that she wasn't Tessa and he hated her for it._

_ Eventually, they finally parted and Daryl let out a breath of relief as she simply adopted a slightly stunned look on her face. He rolled his eyes when he saw her, however, the look of irritation disappeared when he saw Merle standing in the doorway of JT's, holding it open as a woman stood in the threshold, a woman with long, blue-black hair and with the same beautiful features as Tessa . . ._

_ His eyebrows furrowed in immediate confusion but April's voice caused him to immediately cast a disgruntled look onto her. "Man, if you fucked me like you just kissed me, there would be no way I would go away this easy!" She laughed and he rolled his eyes again and shook his head._

_ "Thank God for that, then!" He muttered as he pushed her away and took a step forward towards the bar. He stopped, however, when he saw the woman was gone – that _Tessa _was gone – leaving only Merle standing there. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Merle began crossing the street towards him. "Where is she?" He demanded and Merle gave him a confused look._

_ "Where's who?"_

_ "Don' fuck with me right now, Merle – where's Tess! She was standin' _right there_!" He pointed towards the entrance to JT's, and Merle grinned and whistled as he shook his head._

_ "Man, Scud, either the sun done baked ya brain or all tha' pot ya smoked today did, 'cause I think ya seein' things! Tess is dead, remember?"_

_ Daryl ignored him and instead, turned his eyes back onto JT's, where he scanned it for a moment before looking up both streets. Merle was right, she was gone. He really must have been seeing things._


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the long wait, for everyone reading this who resides in the US, I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving . Everyone else, hope you had a nice weekend :)**

**This is a rather interesting chapter, namely because Michonne has a little chat with Sam. Sorry if she _might _come off a bit OC, couldn't really avoid it :)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: All I can tell ya, hun, is to keep reading :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Yeah, I felt sad writing it :(**

**HaloHunter89: Yeah, another Jeeper man! I got a 2006 Sport myself which is probably why a vast majority of people in my stories drive around in Jeeps. Its what I drive, so it what they drive lol. I kinda viewed what Merle did, as both a selfish act and in his own twisted way, protecting his brother and his own hide. If Tessa came back, it would have caused drama, maybe have shed some light on what he did to her . . . don't know exactly, but does anyone fully know Merle's motives but Merle? And yeah, I agree, I really wanted to show that they were both suffering, not just Tessa.**

**Did anyone else get completely excited when Daryl lost his cool and threatened Martin on the overhang? I know I did - how could someone not? ha ha**

* * *

"Are you _sure _you're gonna be alright?"

Tessa gave Maggie a soft smile and a nod. "Yeah, hun, I'll be fine, I promise. It's not like I haven't went through one of these before. The bleeding won't stop for a while, I suspect, so what I have to do is just sit here and rest until it does. That means the two of you are going to have to make my rounds for me," She spoke, directing her words towards Beth and Wren then and the two girls nodded as she continued: "And only come get me unless you think it's something bad. I cannot stress to you the importance of me staying in this bed and resting." Maggie nodded in agreement.

"She's right. That's what daddy said: rest and plenty of fluids." Tessa gave her a small smile as Wren leaned forward and took her hand, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"Are you going to lose the baby?" She asked and Tessa gave her a weak shrug.

"Without an ultrasound, I'm not sure. I'll . . ." She trailed off and sighed. "I'll have to wait until the bleeding stops and if the pregnancy progresses past that point, then we have our answer. If it doesn't . . ." She gave another shrug. "Then again, we have our answer." Beth bit down on her bottom lip as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and as Maggie leaned forward and took her other hand.

"The baby is a Dixon, Tessa. It'll hang on, I know it will!"

Tessa continued to smile as she nodded, although inside she wasn't sure. They had the twins – two eight-month-old babies that already demanded so much of their time as it was – they didn't need another baby. Then, they had the virus to combat and even though she knew Daryl and the others would be getting back with the meds in a couple of hours to a day at the max, she wasn't sure if she wanted to bring another child into the world when something so dangerous was running rampant. They already had to worry about the twins catching it!

And then remembered Daryl's words the night she had shown him the negative pregnancy test that had quite obviously been faulty (she _knew _she should have gotten Michonne to grab more than one – you _always _took more than one pregnancy test – _how _could she have been so stupid?!). He had told her he was too old to be chasing after another baby along with the twins and for a moment, Tessa wondered how he would react to the news. Would he greet it as joyfully as he had the news of the twins? Or would he treat it impassively – coolly? As much as she had hoped for the first, she knew he would probably treat it the same way she was now – with trepidation at the most.

Tessa was yanked out of her thoughts by Maggie leaning forward and taking her hand again. She turned her eyes onto her and Maggie smiled apologetically. "I'd love to stay and sit with you but I have to get back on guard duty. You'll be fine here, right?" She asked her and Tessa nodded.

"Oh yeah, I'll be peachy. I have Wren and Beth to help out and if we need anything, Carl makes his rounds pretty routinely." She told her and Maggie nodded and squeezed her hand before releasing it and getting to her feet. They watched her leave and when she did, Beth and Wren turned to her, where Tessa heaved a sigh. "You guys go make the rounds now, okay? Ask if anyone needs anything and look out for signs of the sickness or any other symptoms. Just because they're sick, doesn't mean they're infected, but still, don't get too close just in case. And only come get me unless you think its really important." They nodded before sharing a slightly uneasy look.

"You'll be fine here, right Tess?" Beth asked her a little nervously, and Tessa gave her an reassuring look before nodding.

"I'm exhausted, Beth. Like, you have _no _idea how exhausting a miscarriage or a potential miscarriage is. So yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna stay here and try my hardest to get some sleep. I need to relax and I aim to do just that!" She told them and they nodded as Wren stepped forward and took her hand as well.

"I'll bring you some water when we're done, okay?" She told her and Tessa gave her a kind smile and nodded.

"Thanks sweetie. If I'm not sleep, then just leave it on the desk, okay?" She told her and Wren nodded as Tessa pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before watching the two of them leave the room. She heaved a sigh when they were gone and moved up the blanket on her cot slightly in order to shift herself downwards so that her head was lying on the pillow. Her eyes immediately grew heavy and despite the thoughts swirling around in her head like they were caught in the middle of a hurricane, as well as the twinges of pain deep within her womb, it wasn't long before blackness overcame her and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Sam looked up at Michonne approaching him, face void of any and all emotion like it normally was, and he let out a sarcastic snort and shook his head. Her and Tyrese were done chopping the ivy and branches that had grown over the van they had found and while she made her way towards Sam, Martin and Tyrese were hanging around the doorway to the garage, watching Daryl and Ethan's back, as well as constantly surveying the surrounding area for signs of walkers.

"Like fuckin' raw hamburger meat – what do you think?" He replied and she nodded.

"Well . . . that's what ya get for messin' with Daryl." She turned her eyes onto him, a slightly amused look on her face. "Just as a point of curiosity . . . but how hard does he hit? No one's actually felt it but that doesn't mean that a sick part of us doesn't wonder." Sam gave her a look as he gingerly touched his swollen shut left eye.

"It's like gettin' kicked by a damn mule three or four times in the face! I'm surprised he didn't break his hand . . ." He grumbled and Michonne grinned and laughed as they watched as Daryl and Ethan ducked into the newly opened door of the gas station, crossbow and rifle held aloft. She could sense Sam growing stoic at the sight and turned her attention back onto him as he slowly shook his head.

"They're a really good team, aren't they?" He mused and Michonne nodded slowly as well.

"They're father and son – what do you expect?" She returned and Sam didn't deign to answer her. Eventually, Michonne heaved a sigh and turned to face him. "What game are you playing at, exactly?"

Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he turned to face her. "What do you mean?" She shook her head.

"Antagonizing and fighting Daryl at every turn, trying to get Ethan to see your point of view even though he's made it clear by now that his loyalties lie with Daryl – giving goo-goo eyes to Tess whenever you think she's not looking. . ." She shook her head again as she trailed off, a look of curiosity flickering in her eyes. "I just want to know what fuckin' game you're playing at. 'Cause quite obviously you ain't doing this for your health!" She told him with an upturned brow at the sight of him.

"I ain't playing at any game -!"

"Well that's too bad, 'cause I think you are," She interrupted him tersely before glancing at the opened doorway to the gas station that the two Dixons had disappeared into. "You weren't around back then and neither was I, I'll admit, but from what Tessa has told me and from what I witnessed the few scant months before you came, you don't stand a bloody chance. This family has been through Hell and back multiple times over and each and every one of them have done things that they are _not _proud of since leaving Atlanta. But they get through it because of each other – because they _help _each other get through it because they have no choice. What gives you the right to try and rip that apart because you don't have Tessa anymore and you're throwing a tantrum because of it?" Sam wordlessly shook his head.

"I-I'm not -"

Michonne shook her head again. "Okay, then say you're _not _trying to split this family apart - you still need to stop whatever shit you're trying to do or you are unconsciously causing to happen. You're causing stress and strife in that family and you need to stop. The twins don't need to grow up with that much familial stress, as well as the stress that living in this shitty world brings people on a daily basis. _Ethan _does not need to continue to grow up in that either – he does not need to cultivate a relationship with Wren in such a stressful environment."

Sam shook his head and gave a light laugh. "Look, Michonne, I respect your opinion and all, but this doesn't really concern you -!"

Michonne interrupted him once again by placing her hands on her hips and letting out a laugh. "Daryl just handed you your ass on a silver platter not an hour and a half ago and yet you _still _act like your shit doesn't stink!" Her jaw hardened then as her grin disappeared, as well as the laughter from her eyes. "Tessa is my sister and my best friend. Those twins and that boy in there are like my nephews and my niece. When Judith's mother Lori died, me and Maggie – Maggie more than I did at first – tried our damndest to help out with her as much as we could, not only with the twins but with her grief at losing the one best friend she had, had from the beginning. Hell, I'm even in a relationship with the man that Daryl considers his brother! So understandably, I'm quite close to that family." She shook her head and took a step towards him. "It was not my intention to threaten you right after your little squabble with Daryl but considering that you still have one Hell of a chip on your shoulder, I feel I have to. You do _anything _to try and ruin what family Daryl and Tessa has managed to create despite everything and I will make what Daryl done to you today, look like love bites." She arched an eyebrow. "You dig?"

Sam swallowed hard before nodding. "Y-Yeah, I dig." He told her and she nodded.

"Tessa's important to the group, Sam. So are Daryl and Ethan. Everyone looks up to them – everyone goes to them when there's a problem. I think I can also safely say that if you hurt any of them, you won't have just me gunning for your ass. You'll have everyone else, _including _those that Daryl and Tessa _don't _get along with."

"Why?" He asked, shocking her with the question, and she shook her head.

"Tessa's a good woman and she makes a point of trying to get along with everyone in order to keep the most peace we can. She's compassionate, kind, understanding . . . traits that are being bred out of existence in this day and age. And with her around, Daryl becomes a better person too, believe it or not. He's not angry anymore – at least not when he's around you. He's responsible, he does what's right . . ." She gave a shrug. "He sets an example that Ethan and Carl and the other kids can look up to – a _good _example. Again, that's something you won't find very often anymore."

Sam nodded and opened his mouth to reply but Ethan calling to tell them that they had found a new battery, interrupted him. Michonne smiled and nodded, telling him they would be there in a minute and he nodded as he followed Daryl, Martin and Tyrese to the car. She turned her eyes back onto him.

"Remember what I said 'cause I won't tell you again." She told him and he nodded as she then turned and headed towards the rest of the small group. Eventually, Sam followed her and they reached them, right when Ethan was popping up the hood and Daryl was lighting a cigarette.

"Where did you get those?" Michonne asked in shock and he nodded to the garage as he slipped the pack into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Found on tha counter back in tha garage. Why, ya want one?" He asked and Michonne shook her head with a grin.

"No, I quit." She told him and the corners of Daryl's mouth twitched upwards in a smile as Ethan stepped aside so that he could take his place in front of the car, taking the battery from his son as he did so. He glanced back at Martin leaning up against the nearby wall, a cigarette burning in his fingers too.

"Ya never told us 'bout tha group ya were in before." He told him and Martin nodded.

"Which one?" He asked with a wry smile, and Daryl nodded as he leaned underneath the hood to take a better look at the battery. "You know, when you found me on that road, I almost kept walking." He confessed and Daryl let out a laugh as he took the carton of water from Ethan.

"Why's tha'?" He asked before he leaned further into the car to pour water into the battery.

"'Cause I was done being a witness. Two times, two different groups. I was the last one standing from the last one – like I was supposed to see it over and over, like it was some kind of curse." Daryl nodded as he took the cigarette away from his mouth and issued out a long plume of smoke. He glanced at Ethan.

"By tha way, if ya tell ya momma I'm doin' this, I'll tan ya hide!" He told him and Ethan grinned.

"Doin' what?" He asked and Daryl grinned and ruffled his hair as he turned back to Martin when he began speaking again.

"But when it just you out there with the quiet . . . used to be I'd drink a bottle of anything at night in order to be able to shut my eyes at night. Figured the prison, the people . . . thought it'd be easier, you know? The run to the Big Spot, I did it for me." He told him and Daryl gave a shrug as he picked up another carton of water and after popping off the cap, took a swig. Sam watched him for a moment, in awe over how relatively unscathed Daryl seemed to be. Granted, he had heard him say his entire torso was almost black and blue, but he held almost no scrapes or bruises from when he had punched him. Maybe they were right . . . maybe Dixons _did _heal fast.

"We all gotta keep busy . . ." Daryl told him and Martin shook his head.

"No . . . I did it so that I could get me a bottle." He confessed and immediately, Daryl's eyes snapped onto him. "Of anything. I picked it up, I held it in my hand . . . but then I put it down. I put it down so hard that it took the whole damn shelf down with it. That's what brought on the walkers and that's what got Zach killed."

Daryl gazed at him for a moment before saying: "Tha's bullshit."

Martin immediately turned his eyes up to his. He shook his head. "I know how it feels . . . to crave tha' drink. Hell, I crave it now." He told him and Martin furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion, as did Ethan and Daryl glanced at him before turning his eyes onto the engine in front of him. And when he began speaking, everyone seemed to turn their attention onto him – including Sam. "When Tess left me all those years ago, I did tha one thing tha' I promised her I'd never do, and tha' was become ma old man. I drank for tha same reason he drank – to forget. He drank to forget 'Nam, I drank to forget tha' I didn' have her anymore. I fucked for tha same reason tha' he fucked – to imagine, even if it was but for a fleetin' moment, tha' tha girl I was fuckin' was someone else. And ya can stand there and feel sorry for yaself all ya want to, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to what ya think ya willin' to fight for. And what I'm willin' to fight for is more than enough to keep me off of tha' bottle or at least make it easy for me to know ma limit and put it down." He then turned to Ethan and nodded toward the car. "Go on and test tha motor, Ethan. It's tha red and green wire like I taught ya – it ain' rocket science." He told him and Ethan nodded before darting forward to do as he was told. As he did so, the engine rumbling to life seconds later, Michonne turned a look onto Sam.

"Ready to be back in the same vehicle with him?" She asked him and he shrugged.

"As long as I ain't sitting next to him, I think everything will be fine." He told her as Daryl moved over to Martin.

"And by tha way, me and Sasha picked tha' spot. Ya had no way of knowin'. And yeah, ya used to stand alone, but ya ain' anymore. Ya got one big huge family worth fightin' for now."

Martin gave him a small, thankful smile as he moved to the driver's side, Ethan giving him a small smile as he traded places with him. He didn't say thank you but something told him he didn't need to or it would have been a waste of his time. Daryl didn't seem like the type who exchanged pleasantries like that.

* * *

When they reached the veterinary hospital about an hour later, they were surprised at how much they moved through the rooms and the building with an almost SWAT-like precision. They were fast, thorough and constantly on the alert. They searched everywhere, cabinets, shelves, long dead fridges - Martin constantly telling them to take anything ending with a '-cilin' or '-cin'.

It wasn't until they had to find a way to escape, jumping out a window onto a nearby metal overhang, that all Hell seemed to break loose, and Daryl lost his cool for the second time that day.

He felt the weight of the whiskey bottle in his hand and felt a anger vibrating through his entire being. He stood there, pinning an ashamed looking Martin with a look of almost pure rage (Sam had gotten the 'almost' pure rage earlier that day) and his jaw hardened. Everyone else stood behind him, bodies tense and waiting for something to happen, uneasy looks on their faces while Sam stood there, relieved that for once, he wasn't on the receiving end of Daryl's ire.

"Deddy . . ."

"Ya ain' got no meds in ya bag . . . jus' this . . ."

"Deddy, calm down . . ."

"Ya should have kept walkin' tha' day."

"Don't." Martin's quick reply when Daryl moved to throw the bottle away, over the crowd of walkers lumbering below them, drew everyone's attention and made an immediate bolt of fear split through all their hearts. He had flipped up the latch on his gun holster and the look of fiery rage that appeared in Daryl's face was almost akin to the fires of Hell. He immediately marched up to him, getting into his feet and silently demanding that he back down off of the hill he was attempting to wrest from him and immediately, Martin cowered down, his eyes flitting to the floor. Sam didn't blame him . . . he had been on the receiving end of Daryl's punches that afternoon and Martin had witnessed the entire thing . . . extremely stupid move of his, really, to test Daryl after having witnessed that.

That or he had some pretty big balls.

And likewise, all Daryl felt was numb anger. How _dare _this guy threaten to pull a gun on him – on _him_! And then how _dare _he cower when he moved to retaliate, knowing that he really had no chance? For the love of God, he had lived through Will Dixon, Marla Dixon and fuckin' Merle. Not-to-mention he had lived through an arrow being shot through his side and a tumble off a sheer drop God only knew how many feet. He dared Martin to try and take him on – he _dared _him to.

When he made no move to do just that, quickly, Daryl jerked the pistol from his holster and got up in his face again for good measure, pushing him back slightly again. "I am _sick and tired _of pussies thinkin' they can take me on, but only when they have a gun on 'em!" He growled, growing even angrier when he noticed that the bare beginnings of a migraine were starting to pound at the walls of his skull. Dammit, could he _not _catch a break?

He had him by the edge then and grabbed up his vest, where he brought him to him, his face always remaining inches from his. "Let it go Daryl!" Tyrese called when it became pretty apparent that Daryl was ready to hurtle the man over the side and into the crowd of walkers below. "The man's made his choice."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah deddy, come on. There's nothing you can do about it – you just got to let it go."

It took a moment but finally, Daryl released him, immediately backing away as he did so and Martin shook his head, still not able to meet anyone's eyes. "I didn't want to hurt nobody. It was just for when it gets quiet."

Daryl's face was frighteningly expressionless as he slowly thrust the bottle against his chest. His voice when he spoke was calm and level but so intertwined with barely-concealed rage, that even it was frightening to hear. "Ya take one sip . . . or if our meds don' get to our people in time . . . if tha' _one_ sip causes ma Tessa or one of ma kids to get bit . . . I will _beat _ya ass into tha ground so much more worse than I _ever _did Sam. Ya _fuckin' _hear me?" He snapped, his voice tapering off into a threatening growl at the end and Martin nodded. He gazed at him for a moment longer before turning around and heading off towards the van, Ethan quickly falling into step behind him.

"Let's fuckin' get back. I jus' got tha _strangest _feelin' to make sure Tess and the others are fine." He told them and they nodded as gradually, everyone else moved to follow him, until only Sam was left with him. He shook his head, releasing a weak laugh as he did so.

"Welcome to my life."


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I recently moved over the weekend so I spent the entirety of last week getting ready for that. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it although there's nothing special going on in it. Its another flashback chapter but takes place between Daryl and Tessa instead of Tessa and Sam, so . . . yeah, have fun :)**

**There's also a lemon. Not a bad lemon but a decent lemon I suppose lol.**

**MaddyMarie1212: If you look at the time-span this story takes place over, not really. She suffered a few miscarriages over the course of two years out of the thirteen she was separated from Daryl. Then, she got pregnant at the end of those thirteen years when they were reunited and for the sake of the story, I had to stretch that pregnancy out over nine months. So really, it only "feels" like she's constantly pregnant :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Thanks for the kind words and don't worry, Tess will be fine. That's as much as I can give in lieu of spoilers, though :(**

**Guest: Thank you SOOO much for the kind words. It always makes me feel good when I hear that people still take the time to read through the insane amount of chapters in TWTTN and then this one as well, let alone then review! Hopefully you'll keep reading and enjoying :)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: No spoilers. ;)**

**HaloHunter89: I can't say anything in lieu of spoilers and it kills me because you pretty much ride on the same wavelength I do when it comes to this series. And with Michonne, I knew I wanted someone to step into the best friend place that Lori left when she died and yeah, Maggie is one of her best friends but I still think that Tessa looks at her as a little sister instead of Michonne, where she looks at her more like a best friend because they're closer in age. **

* * *

_"I was a little too tall _

_Could've used a few pounds _

_Tight pants points hardly renown _

_She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes _

_And points all her own sitting way up high _

_Way up firm and high . . ."_

- "Night Moves" by Bob Seger

_Crickets chirped in the surrounding forest and the bright moonlight lit up the entire barnyard as Tessa gingerly rubbed her arms and continued on her way to the dimly lit, slightly ramshackle barn. Her boots crunched on the dirt and slight gravel ground and her flesh broke out in ever-so-slight gooseflesh as a cooler than normal breeze blew through the Dixon property, shifting her long blue-black hair away from her face and the hem of her short yellow sundress against the middle of her thighs as she moved. She didn't see Will Dixon's faded firetruck red '60 Chevy sitting out front (probably getting shitfaced at JT's as usual) but Daryl's big black Jeep YJ was sitting out beside the barn. _

_ As she drew closer to the ramshackle structure, she started hearing low music come from inside the dimly flickering space. She furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion as she craned her head slightly in order to try and see where the source of the light was coming from. When she didn't find it was the moment she realized that the song playing was Bob Seger's "Night Moves" and immediately knew that it was Daryl's CD in the CD player. Daryl was the only one in his family that listened to something _other _than country. _

_Her eyebrows furrowed even more in confusion, though, especially when she found her interest peaked at all this secrecy. What was he planning?_

_ "Daryl, baby, are you in here?" She called when she stepped into the barn moments later, her eyes scanning the square-bale stacked floor of the barn all the while. Daryl replied seconds later:_

_ "Up here, babydoll." _

_ Tessa's eyebrows rose slightly when she gazed up at the creaky ladder leading into the expansive hayloft that she had been in only a handful of times (heights kinda got to her and she had to admit, the hayloft bordered on that height that made her start to feel queasy). But sure enough, the hayloft was where the music and dim lighting was coming from._

_ "Daryl, what _are _you planning?" She asked with a grin and a laugh as she took a firm handhold on the ladder and after making sure it wouldn't buckle underneath her weight, started climbing the rickety wooden ladder. He didn't answer her and when she finally climbed up high enough to see over the edge, she knew why. Standing right smack dab in the middle of a cleared space surrounding by golden colored hay (no wonder there had been so many square-bales of hay on the barn floor) stood Daryl, a slightly sheepish look on his face and standing by a sheeted mattress, with the both of them surrounded by lit candles. The CD player was sitting on a nearby haybale and as she stood there for a moment, comprehending what she was seeing, Daryl gave a sheepish shrug._

_ "I, uh . . ." He nervously cleared his throat. "Ya, uh . . . ya asked me to take ya to tha stars earlier tonight and I, uh . . ." He trailed off and glanced around him at everything he had spent the rest of the day after coming back from his Graduation preparing, before gesturing to it all. "I hope this is good enough . . . private enough, ya know, and-and . . . _romantic _enough. I mean, I thought it was pretty good but ya might think it's cheesy and-and tha's fine, but -!"_

_ Tessa grinning and letting out a laugh as she immediately cleared the distance between them, a motion that caused him to come to an immediate stuttering halt. "Daryl, it's not cheesy – I think it's amazing!" She gently assured him. "I think _you _are amazing!"_

_ Daryl gave a laugh as he gingerly rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah, I ain' anythin' special, Tess . . ." He gave another weak shrug. "I jus' don' want this . . . I don' want ya first time to be like any of tha others, ya know? I want it to be special – somethin' tha' ya can _always _look back on and _know _tha' it was tha one thing durin' ya highschool years tha' ya _didn'_ make a mistake with!" He shook his head. "Tha' ya didn' make a mistake with _me_!"_

_ Tessa shook her head in reply, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. "Daryl, how many times do I have to tell you that I will _never _regret you?" She assured him before a slightly incredulous look appeared on her face. "You're my man and despite whatever my parents say about you or whatever your father says about me – whatever they say about _us_ - you're my devoted redneck and you're always gonna _be _my devoted redneck! And I love you, Daryl – so much!" He swallowed hard before subtly shaking his head._

_ "I don' deserve ya, Tess. Ya should be with someone else – someone tha' can give ya what ya _deserve _in this life!"_

_ "And what is it that you think I deserve in this life, Daryl?" She asked him before shaking her head. "You do _to_ deserve me and your damn right in the fact that you can give me anything and everything I could ever want! All I want is _you_ – all I want is to _be _with you and to have a family with you - that's all I _ever _wanted from you since Day One!" She told him firmly, her eyes hard and brooking no argument as she spoke. But then, her hard look dissolved somewhat into a look of amusement as she gave him a small smile. "You hit the jackpot with me, tiger 'cause I don't think any other woman could tolerate her man constantly smelling of squirrel guts and deer piss!"_

_ Daryl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he glanced down at himself. "I, uh . . . I took a shower after I got everythin' set up, so . . ." He trailed off awkwardly and she grinned and rolled her eyes as she reached up and after grasping his neck, pulled him down to her, where she kissed him. Of course they had shared kisses before then and they had even had some pretty hot make-out sessions but never had either of them anticipated the deepness and passion that laced that kiss. It immediately had her moving closer to him while Daryl happily allowed her to, his arms moving to wrap around her frame in a tight embrace._

_ "Are ya sure ya wanna do this, Tess . . .?" He murmured when they finally broke apart for air, his eyes searching hers as she smiled and nodded. _

_ "I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else, Daryl." She told him and he nodded._

_ "Well, in case either of us loses our nerve, I nicked this from ma old man . . ." He replied, trailing off when he brought the bottle of Maker's Mark into view and Tessa gave a laugh as she took it from him. _

_ "You know he's gonna tan your hide when he sees this is missing, right?" She told him and he nodded._

_ "Oh most definitely, but . . . tonight, I figured, was gonna make it _totally_ worth it!" _

_ "It is, is it?" She asked him grinningly and he nodded as he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. She could feel him relaxing and getting used to the situation they found themselves in and when she thought she had summoned up enough courage, she reluctantly pulled away from him. She gently took the bottle from him and sat it down by the nearby mattress before pressing another heated, but much slower kiss to his lips. He returned it for a moment, feeling her slowly move him backwards all the while and blindly allowing her to. Finally, she pulled away from him, only to gently push him down on the mattress behind him, an action that caused Daryl to shoot her a slightly confused look as soon as he hit the soft surface. She simply smiled in return and took a few steps backwards, where she reached behind her and took a hold of the zipper at the back of her dress._

_ Daryl never thought his heart found itself pounding so hard in his life. _

_ She slowly unzipped the dress and as she hooked her fingers into the thin spaghetti straps and pulled them down, allowing the thin clothe to pool around her feet seconds later, he felt his breathing start to pull ragged from his lungs. It took him a moment too, to realize that his hands had been white-knuckling the sheets and when she noticed, she gave a laugh._

_ "_Breathe_, Daryl!" _

_ "Easy for ya to say . . . ya ain' lookin' at what I'm lookin' at right now!" He told her, his voice low and almost far-away as his eyes continued to run languorously over the body that he had been waiting so long to see in all its nude glory – at her curvy figure glad in a simple black bra and jean shorts and the way her dark skin seemed to shine off of the dull light from the surrounding candles._

"She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes . . ."

_Daryl arched a brow_. _"See, even Bob thinks so!" He quipped and Tessa gave another laugh, as well as a roll of her eyes, as she finished taking off her boots before moving over to him. He could still see the blush that burned a fiery trail across her cheeks, though, and simply grinned as she moved to crawl over his body, her legs moving to straddle his hips._

_ "You, Daryl Dixon, are _way _too overdressed for this party." She told him and he fought to keep his grin from growing any bigger. _

_ "Am I now?" He asked and she nodded solemnly. "Ya care to help me with tha'?" _

_ She grinned then and nodded as she leaned forward and kissed him, her fingers sliding through his hair to hold him close. "I'll be glad to . . ."_

_ Their lips connected again as her fingers began working at the buttons on his shirt and when she finally had them undone and slid the fabric from his body, where she threw it away from them. He had quickly undone her bra too and the black fabric joined his shirt seconds later. It was when he flipped them over, pulling her underneath him as they went. Before she even knew it, his hands and lips had descended onto her breasts as he settled in-between her legs and she let out a moan at the feeling of his mouth encircling one of her nipples, his tongue tracing it and creating strange patterns along the pebbling flesh as his hand gently massaged the other. _

_His lips left her then and continued with the same white-hot trail, down her stomach to the button and fly of her shorts. He sat up at this obstacle, allowing his hands to fall onto the steel and clothe, and he quirked an eyebrow in her direction for permission. After swallowing heavily, she nodded and he made quick work of the shorts, the denim going over the side of the bed to join the rest of the growing pile of clothes. His fingers hooked into the sides of her panties and he drew those slowly down her legs too, his cock hardening at the scent and sight of her. When her hands moved to undo his belt, they were shaking so hard, she could barely get the leather out of the first belt loop and Daryl grinned a little as he watched her. Seemed Tessa was more nervous than she wanted him to think._

_"Tess, ya, uh . . . ya want me to do it?" He asked her and she nodded as she withdrew her hands, allowing them to fall on the pillow above her head, cocking at angles when they landed. She watched with bated breath as he undid the belt, button and fly to his jeans, revealing his tinting boxers. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath as the jeans and boxers joined the rest of their clothes on the hard floor, and when she opened them, he was as naked as she was. Inquisitively, she reached out a hand and ran a finger down the silky flesh of his cock, watching intently as he closed his eyes and sucked in a harsh breath at the feeling, his cock jumping underneath her hand as she timidly started stroking him. He grew harder and harder underneath her touch and when he grew close to his peak, he gently grasped her wrist and pried her hand off of him, not wanting his fun to be over with before hers had even began. He could tell by her curious, slightly timid look that she was confused as to why he would make her stop. He grinned and shook his head as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead._

_"This is ya time, Tess . . . I don' matter!" He told her and she nodded slowly, although he still saw the skeptical look in her eyes as he kissed his way down her body again, ending his journey at her core. She jumped at the feeling of his tongue probing her and her back arched off of the bed and she let out a grunt/moan as he carefully inserted a finger into her, his tongue flicking at her small bundle of nerves to negate the bolts of tiny pain that flickered through her body. Pretty soon he had her writhing and moaning on the bed, her eyes closed with her pleasure and her fingers smoothing through his chocolate brown locks as she begged him for more. _

_When he brought her to her peak for the first time, the world itself seemed to quake and tremble around them. He crawled up her body as she lay there recovering from her orgasm, and he smiled down at her and let her rest for a moment. It was better for her to rest and savor it . . . this next part would be somewhat grueling._

_When he was sure she was somewhat recovered enough for them to continue, he settled between her legs again, bracing himself on his forearms on the bed. Her hands settled awkwardly on his sides and he turned his eyes down onto her. "This . . . might hurt." He told her bluntly and a little hesitantly at realizing that he did not know how else to put it and she nodded._

_"I know, jus' . . . go slow, okay?" She asked him with a hard swallow, and he smiled reassuringly – wondering how the Hell she could be brave enough to put so much damn faith in him - and leaned down, where he pressed his lips to her as he entered her slowly and as gently as he could. His mouth swallowed her grunts of pain as she stiffened and arched off of the bed, her entire body rigid with the pain that tore throughout her entire body. He stopped for a moment to allow her to adjust to him and to kiss away the tears that slid down her cheeks from underneath her beautifully thin, closed eyelids. Her nails were buried into the skin at his sides but he felt them slowly retract as she adjusted to the foreign organ buried inside her and when she felt sure she could continue, she slowly nodded her head._

_When he started moving after that, it felt like heaven. _

_The pain was quickly replaced with pleasure and soon, she was clinging to him, her legs wrapping around his waist as he moved rhythmically within her, on top of her - _with_ her. His mouth sought out her lips, the flesh of her neck and collarbone and eventually settled on her breast again as his fingers wormed in-between their tightly clasped bodies and teased her, quickly bringing her closer to her peak for the second time that night. He wasn't going to last long now and he wanted to come with her. He wanted to see the look in her eyes as she came around him, with him . . ._

_And then it was happening. Her inner muscles were rippling around him, milking him as he reached his peak with her, the both of them hitting the Milky Way against a cacophony of moans before they gently floating back down in each other's arms. They saw stars behind their closed eyelids when they closed them and as they lay there for a moment catching their breath. Suddenly, a similar dopey grin spread across both their faces and they dissolved into a fit of laughter, Tessa's lips landing on his in a romantic, loving kiss._

_"Insert total cheesy cliché line here . . ." He muttered when they broke apart and she gave another laugh as she reached over him and picked up the bottle of _Maker's Mark_. As she did so, they heard the crunch of tires on gravel and she immediately felt her man tense beside her. There was only one person that could be, especially at this hour, but he relaxed when the sounds of high-pitched, flirtatious laughter could be heard along with Will Dixon's own gruffer, deeper chuckles. Daryl shook his head. "Looks like I'm good 'til tomorrow . . ." He muttered and Tessa smiled a small smile._

_"Hope your night just didn't get ruined . . ." She replied and Daryl gave her a soft smile and a shake of his head as his hand curled around her hip to bring her closer to him._

_"Nah, don' worry . . . nothin' could ruin this night, babydoll . . ."_

* * *

"Woke last night to tha sound of thunder . . ."

It took Michonne a moment to realize that the low singing she heard was coming from Daryl sitting beside her in the passenger's seat, observing the stone he had snatched up for one of the other group members and completely submerged in his own thoughts. She glanced behind her at Ethan, only to see him gazing at his father with a look of slight interest and confusion on his face.

"How far off I sat and wondered . . . started hummin' a song from 1962 . . ."

"Finally lost it, deddy?" Ethan grinned and Daryl slowly shook his head. It took him a moment to realize that the low music coming in from the car's CD player, was the very same song he had been singing along to. He glanced back at him and shook his head again.

"Naw, I'm good, I jus' . . ." He gave a shrug. "Song takes me back, ya know?" They all nodded as Ethan nodded towards the radio.

"What is it?"

"Ya shittin' me? Ya never grew up listenin' to Bob Seger?" He asked him, shock immediately finding a home on his face and Ethan gave a little half-shrug, half nod combination. Daryl sat there gazing at him in shock for a few moments longer until he realized that of _course _Tessa never would have listening to Bob Seger with him. That was _their _band – "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind" were _their _songs! If she was trying to make his memory easier for her to handle, then of course she wouldn't have listened to him with their son.

Still didn't make it right, though. Being a rock fan and not listening to Bob Seger was almost sacrilegious if you asked Daryl.

Daryl shook his head. "It's Bob Seger's "Night Moves". It's one of me and ya momma's songs." He told him simply and Ethan nodded as Michonne glanced at him.

"How bad do you think it's gonna be when we finally get back?" She asked him and Daryl gave a shrug.

"Hopefully not too bad, but ya never know . . ." Michonne nodded in agreement.

"So . . . I'm not the only one -?"

"Who feels like tha shit has hit tha fan while we've been gone?" He interrupted her and she nodded. He pursed his lips and nodded as well.

"No, ya not . . . I'm jus' tryin' not to think 'bout it . . ."


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, I've made the decision that since the second half of this season won't resume until February, that I will update once every week or every OTHER week. It sucks, I know, but I don't really wanna make any huge plot changes until February rolls around and I know for sure what AMC has planned. So until then, what I'm mainly gonna do is finish up on the episodes I have left (which aren't a lot) and then focus on more of Tessa's past that have left yet unexplained. I already have a couple of kickass ideas for flashback chapters that I think you guys are gonna love, but if you guys have any ideas or have anything you guys want me to write about and make more clear about their pasts, then please, let me know - just trying to extend things until February without taking a dreaded hiatus :(**

**wickedclownsmile: Oh yeah, Daryl would be haulin' ass to get back to that prison!**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Naw, it wasn't too bad - thanks for the kind words, though :). And I wasn't exactly wanting the singing to be amusing, per say, more like he was _extremely _deep in thought and just wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.**

**HaloHunter89: It was always a flashback chapter I wanted to do, I just never got a chance to do it. That's what a lot of these chapters are, really - shit I've wanted to write about for the longest time but for some reason or another, just haven't gotten the time. And believe me, he's probably still smarting ;)**

**Pretty happy with this chapter overall. Conversation between Beth and Wren didn't come out exactly like I had planned but I like it a little bit better. Calmly talking it out seems to fit their personalities better than pounding it out with fists like Daryl. Also, I know I kinda left it on a cliffhanger, especially for those of you who are anxiously waiting for Daryl to Tessa to be reunited so that there will be more hopeless amounts of Dessa fluff, but the next chapter is gonna be a pretty . . . _angsty _chapter, so I figured I shouldn't load you guys down beforehand :)**

**Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana**

* * *

"Here's your water, Ms. Jenkins. Are you comfortable?"

Old little Ms. Jenkins smiled thankfully at Wren as the much, much younger girl handed her the chipped glass of water and she took a shaky sip. When she was done, she gave a nod as her hands moved to rest in her lap, glass of water and all. "Oh yes, dear, I'm quite comfortable. Thank you for the water – you're an Angel!" She told her with an affectionate smile, and Wren couldn't help but return the smile as she leaned down and gave her a short hug.

"You're quite welcome. I'm just filling in for Tess - me and Beth both are, in fact. So we're trying to do all we can until she's back on her feet." She told her and Ms. Jenkins adopted a slightly worried look on her face then.

"What happened to her? Is Tess alright?" She asked and Wren bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before nodding. It never surprised her how much Tessa was liked in the prison. She still served as her Den Mother role, but also as someone people could talk to whenever they had worries to express of just needed someone to talk to, and she seemed to have enough concern for everyone . . . Wren hoped to be like her, some day - someone that everyone liked or at least respected in some shape, form or fashion.

"She, uh . . . she suffered a fainting spell in the showers earlier but we managed to carry her to her cot and she's resting now. She says she should be fine as long as she gets some rest and relaxation for a few." She told her and Mrs. Jenkins nodded as the door behind Wren opened, only for Beth to slip inside moments later. She shot them both a small smile, one that Wren returned as she moved to open one of the bags at the doorway to retrieve another chipped glass. Mrs. Jenkins continued speaking all the while, requiring Wren to return her attention to her.

"Your Ethan's girlfriend, aren't you?" She asked in curiosity, and out of the corner of her eye, Wren saw Beth freeze for a moment. However, when Wren answered her, she slowly and gradually returned to what she had been doing.

"Yes, I am. We've been together now for the past eight to nine months, I think." She told her and Ms. Jenkins gave her another small, affectionate smile.

"The two of you are very cute together, I must say; you look like a younger Daryl and Tessa!" She spoke and Wren grinned and thanked her as a light trail of blush burned across her cheeks. And likewise, she never failed to blush whenever someone would tell her how cute her and Ethan looked together.

"Thank you; we're very happy together." She told her and after a moment of nothing screaming out in protest inside her, she realized that the statement was very much true. She _was _happy with Ethan and as far as she knew, so was he with her. They were both each other's lights at the end of the tunnel and while she never before would have expected to fall in love so soon in her life (or fall so _much_ in love, for that matter), she knew that she had with Ethan. Earlier in their relationship, she had rationalized falling for Daryl Dixon's son because she had an unrecognized crush on the older man. However, once she started seeing him, she realized that she had fallen for Ethan, not because he looked like his father and his personality was the spitting image of Daryl's, but because in his own way, he was also completely different from his father. There was another side to him, too – the cool confidence and joking, good-natured cockiness that Daryl didn't seem to have thanks to his childhood and she supposed _that_ was the reason she loved him so much: because even though he _was _very much like his father, Ethan was still very much his own person – a complete and total separate entity from Daryl Dixon.

Beth had gotten to her feet by the time Ethan was brought up, and wasted no time in leaving the room, the bag in her hand. Wren watched her go for a moment before returning her attention onto the little old lady sitting in front of her. "I'm sorry for leaving so soon, Ms. Jenkins, but I gotta go. There are still a few more people to see and we wanna check back in with Tess before we go see if Maggie needs anything. You know - to make sure she's still doing okay." She apologized with a small smile filled with the same emotion, and Ms. Jenkins nodded in understanding as she tugged Wren down to her. She pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and told her goodbye and not to worry, that Ms. Leigh was coming to visit with her in a few and that when she did, she would have some company and be perfectly fine. She told Wren to send Tessa both her regards and her prayers, and Wren nodded and said she would before telling her goodbye. She then turned around and left the office that had temporarily become Ms. Jenkins's room.

"You ready to go back to Tess?" Beth asked and Wren furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion as she bent down and picked up the other bag. It was significantly lighter than what it had been when they first came up, and Beth answered her with a small smile. "I hurried and finished the others before you were with done with Ms. Jenkins. She's a sweet old lady but she _loves_ to talk, doesn't she?" She asked with a little laugh and Wren nodded and gave a little laugh in agreement as they began walking down the empty corridor towards their rooms – the heavy bootfalls of their steps echoing off the walls.

"Yeah, she's adorable." Wren quietly agreed and they fell into a slightly awkward silence then as they continued on. Wren had always gravitated more towards Sasha whenever she needed a friend, and Tessa when she needed someone to talk to, instead of Beth. She always attributed the awkwardness between them to Beth being something of Ethan's so-called 'ex' but there was something else to it as well that had never caused Wren to grow as close to the youngest Greene as she had to the more hot-tempered Sasha:

Ethan wasn't exactly a bad looking guy for his age. In fact, he could probably be said to have something close to smoldering good looks thanks to the combination of coloring he got from his parents. That or people constantly commented that he was a darker spitting image of his father and give her someone living right then and there who _wouldn't_ call Daryl Dixon a good-looking man! Maybe . . . maybe she had always sensed that Beth was regretful that she had let him go earlier right around the time that she and her brother had joined the group, but then again, maybe . . .

Maybe a lot of things . . .

Wren glanced at her. "So, uh . . . how have you been lately?" She asked the other young woman, purely out of niceties, and Beth glanced at her before nodding.

"Good – I've been good, all things considered. Judith is starting to teethe a little so she's a little grumpy and it keeps me up some at night . . ." She told her and Wren nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, the twins are too. Danny, a little bit more than Aayla but thank God for Tess. She knows how to combat practically anything having to do with babies!"

"Knock on wood, right?" Beth added with a wry smile and Wren returned it with a slight laugh and a nod.

"Yeah . . . yeah, knock on wood . . ."

They fell back into an awkward silence then that was eventually broken by Beth. "You know that . . . I _could _have had Ethan back when we were run off the farm, right?" She told her and Wren tensed slightly, not really liking where this conversation had the potential to go.

"Y-Yeah, him and Tess have mentioned that a couple of times . . ." She replied and Beth nodded. She stayed silent for a moment before giving a shrug.

"He was . . . he was good to me then, you know? He made sure I got off of the farm – he protected me when Patricia almost bit me . . . I could have _so _had him when we left!"

"Why didn't you?" Wren asked before she could stop herself, and mainly out of curiosity. Beth gazed at her for a moment before giving a shrug.

"The age difference originally, I guess. It's kinda stupid now, whenever I think about it, though." She gave a roll of her eyes and a laugh. "I mean, come on, it was only four years! But . . ." She gave a shrug and shook her head. "I also thought that by looking at Daryl, he would amount to nothing more than what his father was and at the time I didn't know Daryl that much, so I didn't know how good of a man he was – how much he loved his family . . ." She gave another shrug. "And now I see him with you – how loving and affectionate he is – _exactly _how Daryl is with Tess and I . . . I can't help but kick myself for my stupidity!"

Wren didn't know what to say. And eventually, when she did, her voice came out choked and slightly shocked. "What about Zach?" She asked and Beth gave another weak shrug.

"What about Jimmy? They both amounted to same thing: death by walkers. Hell, according to Daryl they even got _bit _in the same place!" She replied with a scoffing laugh before she shook her head. "Ethan is so much like Daryl, Wren. He's smart; he knows what to do in order to keep himself and those he loves safe – he knows how to keep his family fed! Zach and Jimmy were _boys _compared to Ethan, whereas Ethan is like Daryl - he's a _man _ in a world that _demands _men! They were good-natured and I _guess _I loved them, but still . . . they were boys."

"Did you . . . did you sleep with them?" Wren asked, her tone a little hesitant, and Beth shot her an upturned brow.

"Do you sleep with Ethan?" She returned with no hesitation whatsoever, and Wren balked for a moment before eventually nodding.

"Yeah, every once in a while . . ."

_Not_ nearly_ as much as Tess and Daryl, but enough to have a healthy relationship, I guess . . ._

Beth nodded, her tone turning simple and to-the-point when she spoke. "Then I slept with Jimmy and Zach every once in a while, too."

"But how do you . . . how did you cope with their deaths once you slept with them?" She asked and Beth gave her a stern look.

"Wren, Ethan _isn't _going to die!" She told her, rather firmly, and Wren nodded.

"Oh, I know, I know, but . . . I'm just asking, you know . . . just in case . . ."

Beth stayed silent for a moment before giving a shrug. "It . . . it's hard, I admit. I mean, I felt something for Zach and I certainly felt something for Jimmy, I think. It's just . . . it's really easy to move on when you have no choice but to." She told her and Wren continued walking alongside her for a moment in silence before eventually nodding.

"Yeah . . . yeah, I never thought about it that way before . . ."

* * *

"Hey, Tess, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Tessa looked up from a laughing Aayla and Danny lying on the cot in front of her and in-between her parted legs, a bright grin on their faces, only to see Rick standing there in the doorway. She nodded and gestured him further inside, which he readily did, closing the door behind him as he did so.

"Hey Rick, your finally back!" She spoke all the while, and he nodded, his hands moving to his hips as he turned a look of concern onto her.

"While I was driving in, Maggie filled me in on what happened to you in the showers. How are you doing?"

Tessa's grin fell down to a smile and she nodded. "I'm . . . I'm still sore but I'm doing better after the very nice nap I just had. I was just sitting here playing with the twins - keeping my mind occupied."

"Do you think you kept it?" He asked and she gave a wearied shrug.

"I just . . . I _don't _know, Rick – I just don't know! It's like I told Maggie and the girls – without an ultrasound, I won't know for sure until I get further down the line."

"Do you hope you have?" He asked and she gazed at him for a moment before speaking and when she did, her voice had dropped down to a quiet tenor that he almost had to strain himself to hear.

"I don't know about that, either, Rick. But enough about me: what about you?" Her eyebrows furrowed in concern as her smile turned down to a frown of the very same emotion. "You look a little troubled . . ."

Rick nodded in wearied agreement as he took a seat at the end of her bed, casting a gentle smile at the two twins as he did so - a smile that the twins replied to with grins of their own. "Things . . ." He began but trailed off, shaking his head as he did so. "Let's just say that shit hit the fan out there, Tess!"

Tessa's eyes widened slightly and an icy cold finger of dread skated down her spine at his words. "Oh God . . . what happened?" She asked and he swallowed hard before glancing at her. Once, a long time ago, Rick had taken her counsel as seriously as he had her husband's, Hershel's and even Glenn's – probably _more_-so than Hershel or Glenn's. Since he cast down his mantle of leader, though, in favor of the Council, he hadn't really needed her advice anymore. So really, it felt weird being his confidante again. And likewise, it felt weird for Rick having to eventually ask her for advice again.

"It was her, Tess," He told her, his voice filled with emotion. "She killed Karen and David." Tessa's eyes grew wide in shock. There had been only one person who went out with him . . . and something told her she hadn't exactly came back.

"_Carol_?" She asked in slight disbelief, and Rick nodded.

"She was trying to stop it from spreading, or so she said."

He sat there and watched as the same flickering of emotions flew across Tessa's face that he had seen on Maggie's. However, they were for completely different reasons. Maggie had known Carol as a friend, Tessa knew her as a possible rival and a bonafide frenemy. Not-to-mention, Carol had been the one who had delivered the twins. Now, if the baby had survived the miscarriage . . . now all they had was Hershel, a man who had willingly put himself in quarantine to tend to the deathly sick.

Rick could completely understand why Tessa was uneasy.

Rick shook his head and moved to further explain himself. "Tyrese is gonna be back soon with the others, Tess. I didn't . . . I didn't think she should be here when he did." He shook his head. "Tess, I couldn't have her here, you know I couldn't! I sent her off with a car and supplies . . . she's a survivor – she'll figure it out."

"What are you going to do?" Tessa finally asked, her voice coming out small and noncommittal and Rick swallowed hard.

"I told Maggie I was going to tell Hershel but not to let anyone else know yet. I'm going to ask you to do the same." He replied and she immediately nodded.

"Of course. We don't need that kind of panic and derision – _not _now!" She agreed and Rick nodded in thankful agreement before he shot her a slightly uneasy look.

"Would you have brought her back?" He asked and Tessa swallowed hard and thought for a moment.

"She said she did it?"

He nodded. "Yeah . . ."

Tessa thought for a moment before resolutely nodding. "You were right to send her away, then. I . . . I don't know if I could have in my present state, but . . . but you were right to. You might have just saved a lot of people." She told him and Rick nodded as he reached forward and took her hand in his. Her eyes flickered up to his and what she found there was a resolute determination.

"You could have, Tessa – don't delude yourself. You've made much harder decisions in the past and when it would have come down to the wire, you would have done it to protect your children – to protect _all _the children here! So don't doubt yourself – we don't get to anymore!" He told her and she nodded as she gently withdrew her hand from his and instead, moved to throw the covers off her legs. Even though Michonne and Rick were together and for all intents and purposes, as happy as any other couple in the prison, she knew Rick still held feelings for her - feelings that would possibly never go away. They weren't nearly as bad as they had been earlier, but they were still there and she was careful about making sure he knew when he had stepped over the line.

Even though she wouldn't exactly have classified him taking her hand out of concern,as stepping over the line. Hell, she'd take stoic Rick over Sam's goo-goo-eyed looks any day of the week!

She stood, wincing as she did so before slowly leaning down to pick up Aayla. She moved to deposit the girl into her crib and Rick quickly got to his feet as well before he picked up and handed her Danny, where she did the same.

"How are things out there? I haven't been out since we've been put here and the only information I've been able to get is from Maggie and understandably, she's a little . . . distracted at the moment." She told him, changing the subject, and Rick heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"The walkers are grouping around the fence more than anything now. Me and Maggie spent some time reinforcing the fence and I gotta go back and help her again before long, but . . ." He trailed off and shook his head tiredly. "It's exhausting work, Tess! Killin' enough of them in order to relieve some of the pressure off of the fence long enough to reinforce it with logs that _might _not even hold . . ." Tessa nodded in agreement as she placed a hand on his arm.

"I bet it is – now help to the cot, will you?" He nodded and after taking a firm hold of her arm and shoulder, helped her slowly to bed. His eyebrows furrowed in concern at the slight winces that would cross her face along the way.

"Tess, are you _sure_ you don't want me to go -"

Tessa's smile of amusement interrupted him as she finally descended onto the cot again, where she made herself comfortable on top of the thin army blankets. "You'll go do what, Rick - fetch Hershel?" She asked before giving a laugh and a shake of his head. "I'm fine, Rick, I promise that I am. All I need is more rest. And even if you _did _go get Hershel, what could he possibly do?"

Rick shook his head. "Tess, I promised Daryl that I would watch over you while he was gone!" He told her and she shook her head, her gaze softening.

"And I'm here to tell you that I'm _fine_, Rick! I just . . ." She gave a short laugh then. "I have to think of a way to tell Daryl that he _might _be a daddy again!" Rick gave her a small, slightly amused smile then.

"Yeah . . . yeah, good luck with that. And once you get done with that, _I'm _gonna have to tell him that there is only _one _person left who can deliver your baby!" He replied and Tessa gave him a weak, amused look.

"Yeah . . . yeah, good luck with that, too."


	15. Chapter 15

**So, consider this chapter you guy's Christmas present. I had originally meant for it to be posted tomorrow but I was so excited about it that I couldn't wait. Its the muchly anticipation reunion chapter between Daryl and Tessa and while there are certainly a little bit of fluff between them, there is also a Rick x Michonne fluffy part as well as Ethan x Wren fluff and, well . . . there's just a lot of fluff to go around this chapter, lets just say that, ha ha.**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks, hun :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: Merry Christmas to you too, hun, and here's that chapter for you :)**

**HaloHunter89: I had originally wanted Wren and Beth's claws to come out but it didn't . . . it didn't seem like them. Maybe later, depending on what AMC throws me, Wren's claws might come out, but for that particular moment, I figured and awkward talk would be better. And you are gonna like the flashback chapters - I hope everyone will. And of COURSE I'm keeping you guys in suspense! I wouldn't be me if I didn't! ;)**

**Hope you guys have an amazing Christmas and/or happy holidays and I'll see you next week! :)**

**With love!**

**- Nagiana**

**PS - About those flashback chapters - let me know ASAP if there's something you wanna see. I'm open to almose anything!**

* * *

"Dad, look!"

Rick heaved a sigh and looked up from the walker he had so recently stabbed through the head with an iron pipe, only to see headlights in the distance leading up to the prison. That sigh turned into one of relief. It was the others – they were back! Thank _God_ they were back!

"Everything's gonna be okay now . . ." Carl told him, relief evident in his voice as well, and Rick numbly nodded as Carl quickly ran down to let them in. He stood there, though, and gazed around him, at the walkers piled inches deep from when they had scaled the fence and came tumbling over – the walkers that Rick and Carl had single-handedly defeated. It had probably been one of the most heart-racing moments of his life and for once, he was grateful that he had Carl there to help him. He wouldn't have been able to do it on his own.

He brought out his thoughts just in time to run and grab the gate that would allow the car admittance to the inner courtyard of the prison. He watched as the minivan moved inside and then closed the gate behind it.

"Sasha – how's Sasha?" Tyrese asked him before the car had even stopped moving as he opened his door. Daryl did the same and Rick numbly nodded.

"I don't know, I'm sorry," He told him before settling his eyes onto Daryl. "But you need to go see Tess ASAP."

Daryl's face paled at his words and Rick could see it, even in the darkness of the night that surrounded them. "Why - what happened to her?" He asked and Rick shook his head.

"She . . . she needs to tell you herself." He told him and Daryl nodded in understanding as he turned on his heels and took off at a sprint for the administration building that she and the other children and people were cloistered away in. Ethan threw a look of slight confusion after him and Rick nodded in his direction. "Go follow him – you need to see your momma too."

Ethan still held a look of confusion as he nodded and took off after his father – a look of confusion that everyone else adopted as well. "What's wrong?" Michonne asked and Rick shook his head as he moved over to her and pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace. She froze for a moment before giving a light laugh and hugging him back. "Rick, baby, what's wrong?" She asked and Sam's face echoed the same look of confusion as he moved out of the van and over to them. Rick recoiled in shock when he saw him and when him and Michonne broke apart, she fought to hold back a grin.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" He asked and Sam opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Michonne.

"He got on the wrong side of Daryl. Now please, Rick – why did Ethan and Daryl run off so fast to Tessa?"

Rick heaved a sigh and turned a weak look down onto her. "She . . . she suffered a miscarriage while you guys were gone," He told her and immediately, Michonne's eyes widened in shock, as did Sam's. "It was in the shower. Maggie and the girls got her out in time and she resting for now but it was . . . it was traumatic."

Michonne nodded. "Well course of it was!" She shook her head, a sudden guilty look appearing on her face as she put her hands to her mouth. Stupid her – why _didn't _she have the sense to get more than one pregnancy test?!

"Is she alright?" Sam asked, concern flickering across his features and Rick nodded.

"Yeah, she's fine, but . . ." He heaved a sigh as he turned his eyes onto Michonne. "There's something else I gotta tell you too. Come on . . ."

* * *

"Tess?! _Tessa_!?"

Tessa's heart immediately started racing when she heard Daryl's worried voice calling to her from the hallway outside the room she shared with Wren and the twins. She nodded and quickly threw the covers off of her before moving towards the door, as fast as she could, frantic to see the one person she had wanted to see since he left.

"Daryl – Daryl, I'm in here, baby!" She called back, as loudly as she could without waking the twins or Wren, before flinging open the door. She saw the look of intense relief that echoed across his eyes and his face before he moved towards her. She felt herself swept up into a whirlwind of strong arms, a heated embrace and a deep, longing kiss filled to the brim with silken tongue. When they broke apart, Tessa wanted to laugh at the relief that continued to fill his eyes and which made his voice come out much faster than it normally would.

"I was so worried the entire time and then when we got back and Rick told me I needed to see ya, I-I immediately thought of tha worst -!"

"_Shh_!" She quickly interrupted him before motioning towards Wren and the twins. He nodded and promptly shut up as he set her down on her feet and she pulled him further into the room so that they wouldn't disturb anyone else by talking in the hall. "I'm fine – everyone is fine; you don't have to worry!" She assured him quietly and with a light, indulgent laugh as she sat down on the edge of the cot. He gave her an apprehensive look and opened his mouth to speak as he took a seat beside her, but was interrupted by the pounding of footsteps on the wood floor of the hallway outside. The door was thrown open and when Ethan appeared in the doorway, a frightened look on his face, Daryl and Tessa both shushed him when he yelled out, 'Momma!' in the process.

"Good Lord, boy, can' ya see tha' tha twins and Wren are sleepin'?" Daryl hissed at him and immediately, a hot path of blush burned across his face. He nodded and moved further into the room, his eyes lingering on Wren for a moment before he darted over to gratefully hug his mother. Tessa took him into a tight embrace for a moment, feeling his worry for her in every tense muscle in his body and she smiled a small smile.

"I'm fine, baby – I'm fine!" She murmured to him and he nodded, relief evident in his eyes as she pressed a loving kiss to his forehead before releasing him. He immediately moved over to Wren and sat down on the floor beside her and the cot she was sleeping on because he didn't want to disturb her by trying to slide in beside her – something he had yet to master and something which would take years before he finally would. He did manage to slide his fingers into hers, though, and she immediately latched onto them, their entwined fingers making him give a small smile that Daryl and Tessa couldn't help but echo.

"I'm so happy your back!" Tessa murmured to Daryl as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her, and he nodded in silent agreement as he turned his face into hers and pressed a loving kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm back, babydoll – back to stay this time!" He promised her before his gaze turned searching. "Now what's wrong? Why did Rick tell me I needed to see ya ASAP?" He asked and she gave him a small, tired smile and shook her head.

"I'm tired, Daryl, and I don't feel like talking about this right now – so can we please talk about it in the morning?" She asked and he nodded, his eyes moving to settle on Ethan across the way for a moment. He already had his head lying on the cot's pillow beside Wren's and was quickly falling asleep, their fingers still tightly intertwined. He didn't blame the boy and now that he was actually sitting down and content with the knowledge that everyone in his family was safe, he felt a certain exhaustion sweep over him as well. They had been through a lot these past couple of days . . . all he wanted to do was _sleep_!

"Yeah . . . yeah, we can. Now come on, let's get to bed -"

"Oh no – what the Hell do you think you're doing?"

Daryl released a low groan of frustration at her words as Tessa grinned and let out a laugh. He shook his head in turn. "Tess, I'm exhausted – ya exhausted – can we _please _skip this showering bullshit for jus' _one _night?" He asked with a whine lacing his tone, and she shook her head with another laugh.

"I was actually waiting for this. I need one too – so come on, help me up!"

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion but did as she told him. After toeing off his boots, he got to his feet and slowly helped her to hers, a grimace crossing her face at the slight pain that shot throughout her lower stomach at the feeling. She quickly gathered up what they would need and his look of confusion deepened, especially when she clung to him and they slowly made their way to the door. They left as silently as they could to better keep the kids soundly asleep and once the door closed behind them, Daryl bent down and after hooking an arm underneath her knees, picked her up in his arms, where he carried her the last short distance to the showers. She rolled her eyes.

"Daryl, you _do_ know that I can walk, right?"

"Yeah, well, if ya did, then it'd take us years to get there and back with how slow ya movin' – no offense." He quickly added with a smile and she simply shook her head in playful exasperation. When they entered the showers seconds later, he set her gently on her feet before moving forward and cutting on one of the showers. He was exhausted and it took him a moment for his sleep-deprived body to regulate the temperature to where it would be comfortable enough for the both of them.

They both stripped as quickly as they could and when they were under the water, Daryl couldn't help but shiver in delight at the feeling. Tessa shot a smug smile up at him. "See, what do I always tell ya whenever ya complain about not wanting to take a shower before you come to bed?" She asked and he rolled his eyes but gave a grin nonetheless as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly so that the water could rush down his body, the dirt and any blood left on him, swirling down the drain along with the clear liquid.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever . . . it does feel pretty amazin', though, I will admit . . ." He muttered and Tessa smile and shook her head as she moved closer to him, his arms wrapping around her waist as she wrapped hers around his back. They stood there, under the hot spray, holding each other for a moment and reveling at being back in each other's arms.

"Ya at least wanna _hint _to me at what happened to ya when I was gone?" He finally asked, his tone slightly teasing, but it didn't stop Tessa's heart rate from picking up slightly.

"You sure you really wanna know . . .?"

Daryl gave a snort of a laugh. "Does a bear shit in tha woods?"

Tessa gave a laugh as she broke apart from him slightly. "Well, right now, there's no easy way to say this, but . . ." His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, slight interest and she gave him a small smile as she took up one of his hands and then pressed it flat against her stomach. "You might be a daddy again, Daryl . . ."

* * *

"You do realize that Daryl's not gonna take kindly to the fact that Carol's gone, right?"

Rick nodded at Michonne's words before swallowing hard. Her arms tightened around his neck slightly but it wasn't in a suffocating way that Lori's had been like, especially towards the end. It was in a comfortingly, gentle way and when he felt her fingers rubbing soothingly at the back of his neck, he felt himself relax somewhat. "Now you know why I ain't exactly excited about telling him!" He told her with a slightly laugh before shaking his head. "And now that Tess might be expecting again . . . just the _thought _that we only have one person left now with the capabilities to deliver a baby – he ain't gonna take kindly to it."

"Rick, it needed to be done! She killed two of our own without knowing if they would be fine - she earned it!" She assured him slowly, firmly, and Rick turned an uncertain gaze onto her.

"Was it?" He shook his head. "What if something happens to Hershel? I doubt Martin's ever delivered a baby before, let alone knows how to. And after what you told me happened between the two of them at the school after him and Sam's fight, I doubt that Daryl would let him anywhere near her, _period_!" He swallowed hard. "I . . . I might have killed their baby, Michonne – I might have killed _her_!" Michonne stubbornly shook her head then.

"No, Rick, don't think that way -!"

"I'm not!" He interrupted her before giving a laugh. "Believe me, I'm not! But Daryl _might_. And it's that kind of thought process that leads to things coming to blows between him and another person - like it did with him and Sam and like it almost did with him and Martin if Ethan and Tyrese hadn't intervened in time. And looking at how Sam looked . . ." He gave another laugh and a shake of his head. "I don't exactly wanna be on that man's shitlist!"

* * *

Daryl was numb.

He had been numb the entire time that it had taken for him and Tyrese to drive a load of walker corpses down to the grassy courtyard for burning and when they drove back up to the inner courtyard, where Tyrese asked Hershel how Glenn was doing, he hardly noticed it still when he told the old man that Glenn was a tough bastard and that he'd get through it.

"_You might be a daddy again, Daryl . . ._"

The words echoed through his head like a pinball in a pinball machine and when Hershel gave him a small, weak smile, he fought to return it.

"Something tells me you got some news last night." He spoke, his voice gentle and slightly amused when Daryl walked up to him. The younger man swallowed hard before nodding.

"Y-Yeah, she told me last night. Was it bad?" He asked and Hershel gave a shrug.

"I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure, but Maggie said she didn't think she lost it. If she lost it, then there would have more blood than they found."

"She was in tha shower when it happened, though. Couldn' tha blood have washed down tha drain?"

Hershel nodded as he placed his hands on his hips "Well, of course it could have, but you're missing the point. Whether Tessa is pregnant or not, she's in a very fragile state right now, Daryl. She needs all the rest and relaxation she can get – a very stress-free life for the next couple of months. We'll know if she's still pregnant after a few months have gone by and the pregnancy still progresses."

Daryl nodded, feeling himself assured slightly, but not by much. "What 'bout Carol? She'll wanna know if she doesn' already. She delivered Danny and Aayla – I'm sure she'll deliver this one as well."

Hershel gazed at him for a moment, a gaze that Daryl immediately didn't like and eventually, Hershel heaved a sigh. "Talk to Rick about her, okay? She's okay – Lizzie and Mika are okay – just talk to Rick about her." Daryl nodded and Hershel gave him a smile. "Come get me if anything happens with Tess, okay?"

Daryl nodded again and it was then that Hershel turned around and moved off in the other direction – the direction that Tyrese had walked off in. Daryl stood there for a minute before shaking his head and walking off. Why did he need to talk to Rick when Carol could be somewhere in the prison right now? What the _Hell _had gone on while they were gone?

* * *

"Aw _fuck_!"

Daryl looked up and gave a smile and a laugh when he saw that Sam had been the one who had spoken the two words. The man had been in the middle of transporting water from the water buckets in the square, to the Cellblock where the sick were. He had rounded a corner on a shortcut, only to find Daryl hunching down against the brick wall. He had originally went there to be alone – to try and sort through the thoughts that were swirling around like a hurricane in his head, and didn't expect to run into anyone there, least of all, Sam.

Daryl shook his head as he tiredly rubbed at his face with his hands. He hadn't slept well the previous night. He and Tessa had returned to the office after their shower and while the cot had certainly been big enough to accommodate them both, the news that she _might _be pregnant again, had kept him from getting any kind of worthwhile sleep.

"Ya good for now, believe it or not. I'm too exhausted to do much of anythin' right now, not-to-mention _think_!"

Sam nodded, relief echoing across his eyes but when he moved to turn around and go the long way, something kept him back. He turned an apprehensive but still curious gaze onto him. "Is . . . is somethin' wrong?" He asked and Daryl didn't deign to answer him for a moment but when he did, his voice was tight and slightly disbelieving.

"Tess might be pregnant again . . ."

"Well congrats, man!" Sam immediately answered and Daryl shook his head. He had yet to take his face out of his hands and Sam slowly set down the buckets of water he had been carrying and when he was done, moved to lean up against the nearby wall.

"Tha twins are eight months old – they'll be seventeen months when this baby is born – little over one-years-old," He shook his head. "I'm too old to be chasin' after another kid, Sam, I've told Tess tha' since tha beginnin'! Apparently, tha pregnancy test had been mistaken or she had taken it too early or _somethin'_ but either way, she ended up havin' a miscarriage and she might be pregnant now!" He shook his head. "I dunno what to do . . . I've been tryin' to sort through all these damn thoughts tha've been swirlin' 'round in ma head since last night but . . . it only makes me even _more _exhausted!"

"Wait one Goddamn minute - are you _shittin_' me?"

Daryl turned an alarmed look up onto Sam then, who let out a sound of disbelief and looked away. He placed his hands on his hips and thought for a moment before shaking his head and turning his gaze onto Daryl again. "Do you _know _how hard it was for me back then? Do you _know _how difficult it was for me to live in your shadow – a shadow I could never _hope _to encompass – to try and walk in your humongous shoes that I could never _hope_ to fill? And I realize that the twins are still very, very young, but do you know how ungrateful you look to me right now? Me and Tess tried _so hard _to have a baby of our own and yet . . . you sit here – the _one _man that could do what I could not – and _complain _because his wife is pregnant!" Sam shook his head and waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "Man, take it from me - just be glad you _can _have kids with her, Daryl! 'Cause, _believe_ me - not just any man can!"

"What would ya have me do then?" Daryl demanded, his voice taking on a particularly rough edge that Sam was starting to become cautious around. However, at that moment, it didn't make him nearly as cautious. He believed Daryl when the man told him he wasn't in the mood to do anything and that alone made him linger and hear him out further. "Do ya know how hard our lives are now – how hard they're gonna _become_ once this baby is born and we have three kids all under the age of five to look after and worry after?" He shook his head and gave a helpless shrug. "What tha _fuck _do I do?"

Sam gave a wordless shrug. "I . . . be there for her, I guess? You know this has gotta be hard on her too as a woman – Hell, she'd fall into a depression every time we'd go through a miscarriage ourselves! Maybe all she wants is to know that you'll be there for her."

Daryl sat there and thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'll do tha'." He shot him a slightly uncomfortable look. "Uh . . . thanks, man?"

Sam gave a snort of laughter as he bent down and picked up his buckets of water. "Yeah, this has been awkward for me too, Daryl. Glad I could be of help, though." Daryl nodded as he got to his feet.

"By tha way, don', uh . . . don' think this solves any of tha shit between us, though." He told him and Sam gave a laugh.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Daryl, but if one heart-to-heart between us had . . ." He shook his head. "Then I wouldn't nearly have the same respect for you that I already do."


	16. Chapter 16

**First off, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy holidays, as well as a safe and enjoyable New Year's :)**

**This chapter is the first of a two part flashback (the second will be either next chapter or the chapter after that) and it encompasses a topic that a fair amount of you have probably wondered about. Overall, I'm very happy with it and hopefully you guys will too :)**

**NanamiYatsumaki: I did, thank you :)**

**HaloHunter89: Yeah, I know you'll never like Sam but I just thought it'd be funny that Sam would be the one person that Daryl would be able to get 'advice' from in such a vulnerable moment like that. And yeah, Wren and Ethan always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside :)**

**DarylDixon'sLover: Thanks and keep reading! We'll figure out eventually ha ha ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana**

* * *

_Seventeen Years Ago . . ._

_ "Hey Dar, take a look at this chick!"_

_ Daryl didn't answer his best friend, nor did he acknowledge the slap on his arm that he was dealt in an attempt to try and get his attention. He simply continued to sit there in his seat, absentmindedly twirling his pencil in-between his fingers and only flickered his eyes up towards the front of the classroom. Standing there in the front of the entire class with his aging English teacher was – possibly – one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life (granted, Shooter's Mill might be a small town but they had their fair share of pretty girls, so understandably, that was quite a thing to say). Long, blue-black hair that fell in pin-straight locks down to the small of her back (none of that bullshit 80's big hair that seemed like such a cool thing lately) and big, almond-shaped brown eyes . . . dark skin shining beneath a yellow plaid flannel shirt, jeans and black Chuck Taylor's . . ._

_ "Damn . . ." He breathed out in awe and his best friend grinned and nodded._

_ "_Right - _that's what I said!" He answered with a laugh and Daryl numbly shook his head. If he believed in the total bullshit thing as true love, then he would almost swear up and down that it had struck him at that moment._

_ "Class, I want you y'all welcome Tessa Nightrun. She's new here; moved from . . . now dear me, where was it you said you from, dear?" Ms. Marnie asked, her thin white eyebrows knitting together in confusion, and Tessa smiled as she nervously shoved her hands down into the front pockets of her jeans._

_ "Uh, I'm from a small town in New Mexico. I lived on a Cherokee Indian Reservation there." She spoke and Ms. Marnie's eyes widened in slight interest._

_ "Oh really; so your Cherokee?" She asked and Tessa nodded._

_ "Yes ma'am - full blooded." She replied with nothing but pride echoing in her tone and Daryl heard his friend mutter a grinning, 'Right on!' but he hardly heard him. He found himself quite unable to tear his eyes away from her and when the teacher told her she could take a seat at the empty desk beside Daryl Dix –_

_ Wait, _what_?!_

_ Daryl found himself banging unceremoniously back down into reality as his eyes darted to the empty desk sitting in-between him and another shy, quiet girl by the name of Medina Patterson, and felt his heart almost jump up into his throat. It was an action that he immediately cussed himself out for it. What was _with _him all of a sudden?_

_ He purposely kept his eyes on the pencil still being slowly twirled in his fingers and hardly took notice when the girl on the other side of her said hello before introducing her to the other surrounding people. He let out a derisive snort. It was funny . . . new person moved to town and everyone thought they were the next best thing since indoor plumbing. In fact, you'd almost think that his class _wasn't _full of nothing but bitches and assholes. _

_ He felt his awe of her go down slightly at that thought. Give her a few days and she'd be best friends with the Queen Bee of the school and sucking the cock of the Star Quarterback behind the bleachers after homecoming – she was certainly pretty enough to become one of the popular girls, anyway. He had seen it happen before and he knew it wasn't about to change._

_ "Yeah, my name's Steven and this piece of local trash right here is Daryl!" _

_ Daryl gritted his teeth when he felt himself being shoved roughly forward by the jock asshole sitting behind him, who was – ironically – the star quarterback. He saw his best friend, Dirk, tense slightly out of the corner of his eye but the new girl's eyebrows furrowed in an indecipherable emotion as she turned her eyes onto him. "Hey, I'm Tessa . . ." She told him, her voice quiet and almost . . . _kind_? He nodded curtly and turned his eyes onto her._

_ "Ya heard tha' brayin' jackass behind me - tha' name's Daryl . . . Daryl Dixon." He told her and she smiled at his answer – the first genuine smile he had been given in _such _a long time, that it took him aback. With that smile, it was almost like she was _happy _to have met him and for a moment, he almost smiled back._

_ But then he got shoved hard again and that need to share her kind smile disappeared in favor of another angry, tight gritting of his teeth._

_ "Hey, Dixon-Shit, how did ya get that black eye? Did ya good for nothin' deddy give it to ya after he finished plowing the town hoe-bag?"_

_ Tessa's eyebrows furrowed again and she frowned slightly as she turned her eyes onto the jock still sitting behind him and who was now guffawing with one of his other jock asshole friends. Her eyes didn't linger on him long, however, for she returned them to Daryl upon realizing that his hand had now curled around the wood of the pencil in an unnervingly tight grip._

_ "Dude, look at his hand! I wouldn' mess with him. Remember what he did to Jonesy a couple of days ago -?"_

_ "Tha' piece-of-shit nigger was talkin' 'bout ma momma!" Daryl interrupted the jock's friend in a snap and he saw Tessa's eyes widen in shock. He didn't care, though, and still proceeded to turn halfway around to glare at the two of them sitting behind him. His momma might have been a good-for-nothing alcoholic – the same as his deddy – but no one was gonna badmouth her in front of him. She was still his momma and she had still labored to give him life. Whether he hated her or not, he still had to give her that. He shook his head. "He fuckin' deserved what he got!"_

_ The jock adopted an angry look on his face at his words. "So instead of a good old fashioned fist fight, ya fuckin' shank him instead?" He shook his head, the same angry look still on his face. "We should have figured. Ma deddy said Dixons have never fought fair anyways – wouldn't know _how _to fight fair, even if they needed to! All of ya'll are fuckin' scum – every single one of ya!"_

_ It shocked everyone with the speed at which Daryl had moved then – especially Tessa and the jock that now found the scruff of his shirt being tightly held in a very angry handhold by Daryl. "Ya tell ya deddy tha next time he says tha'. tha' he's jus' pissed off tha' Will Dixon handed him his ass on a silver platter - even _when_ he was ten sheets in tha fuckin' wind! It's also somethin' ya _'bout _to get yaself if ya don' _shut _tha fuck up -!"_

_ "_Daryl Dixon_!"_

_ Everyone held their collective breath with the teacher's shocked, shrill voice split through the air at that moment. Daryl didn't turn around to face her but released the jock nonetheless before stooping down and yanking up his backpack from the floor. "Next time ya try to be alpha male and show off in front of tha new girl, make sure it ain' with someone who has no qualms 'bout kickin' ya ass!" He snapped at him and Ms. Marnie shook her head, an angry look appearing on her face as she placed her hands on her hips._

_ "Daryl Dixon, you get your butt to the principal's office right this minute!"_

_ Daryl rolled his eyes. "Don' worry, I was on ma way there!"_

_ She shook her head. "I swear to _God_, not even Merle gave me this much trouble!"_

_ "Now tha's surprisin'!" Daryl muttered with a bitter laugh as he moved to head up the aisle of students to the front that would then lead to the classroom door. He stopped, however, when he felt a hand latch onto his arm. He looked down, alarmed, only to see the hand belonged to Tessa. She smiled when his eyes connected with hers then._

_ "It was nice meeting you." She spoke and Daryl nodded slowly._

_ "Rrright . . ." He spoke slowly before gently pulling his arm free, where he then proceeded on his way to the front. He couldn't deny, though, the chills that had ran up and down his spine at the feel of her hand on his arm, though, and when he glanced back at her before leaving the classroom, his eyes had connected with hers for just a moment . . . a moment that made his heart skip a beat._

* * *

_ He peered out at her through locks of dark chocolate brown hair and it was as he gazed at her in this way, that Tessa realized just how good-looking this guy sitting beside her, really was. He was tall and thin but held a corded, leanly muscular frame that wasn't wholly unappealing. His face was handsomely chiseled and was set with beautiful bright blue eyes that appeared almost haunted and forlorn in their depth and magnitude. One of them was ringed with a nasty purplish-blackness that she noticed the jock asshole behind him had commented about and for a moment at the look of them, Tessa felt her heart pick up a hard, staccato beat. _

_From the day she first met him, Tessa Nightrun knew that Daryl Dixon would be hers, and likewise, the day he first met her, Daryl Dixon knew that Tessa Nightrun would be his._

_It was only a matter of time._

* * *

_"Hey, Steven - leave him the fuck alone, will ya?"_

_The whole classroom, which has buzzing like a hive of angry bees, went completely silent at Tessa's suddenly angry words. She abruptly pulled herself out of the conversation she had been having with Medina, and instead, turned her eyes onto the jock asshole that still insisted on sitting behind Daryl and making his life Hell during fourth period English. He turned a surprised look on her, as well as Daryl, and when she didn't say anything, just proceeded to stare him down, he slowly sank back down in his seat and moved to cross his arms in front of his chest._

_"I was just -"_

_"Just what?" She demanded, interrupting him mid-sentence before he could continue. "I mean, _seriously_, how stupid can you be?" _

_She laughed then, ignoring her friend when Medina hissed a, 'Tessa, _don't_!' in her direction, and continued: "The guy almost kicks your ass in class the other day in front of everyone and yet you _still _insist on messin' with him!" She shook her head. "If your friend did to him the same that you're doing to him now, then no wonder he shanked him! Hell, he had every right to!"_

_"Stay outa it . . .!"_

_Tessa's eyes widened and she turned a slightly alarmed look onto Daryl sitting beside her, who had hissed the words to her through gritted teeth. And likewise, Steven turned a slightly alarmed look on him as well. Tessa shook her head. "I-I–I'm sorry?" She asked, stuttering over her words in her confusion, and Daryl shook his head as he turned a fierce glare onto her. _

_"I said stay outta it. I don' need ya help -!" _

_He was interrupted by the bell ringing then – its sharp, piercing sound heralding an end to another day of highschool, and the other students in the class scrambled to yank up their things and head for the door. Daryl beat them all with the speed with which he yanked up his backpack and slid out of his desk to head for the door. He didn't pay any of them any other mind and Tessa watched him go with eyebrows furrowed gently in concern. _

_A good-natured chuckling brought her back down into reality and she turned her eyes back down onto Steven when he grinned and got to his feet after picking up his backpack. "Don't worry about him, Tess – he's trash. His whole family is trash – they've been trash since before the town was first started! Hell, my papaw remembers when his grandpa Earl -"_

_"Look, this is probably a fascinating story rich with detail and historical accuracy, but truthfully, I would rather slice open my eardrums with razor blades than listen to a thing that comes out of your asshole mouth!" She told him with a totally fake sweet smile and Medina and the others still lingering in the classroom, gave snickers of laughter as she got to her feet, picked up her backpack and after saying a rushed goodbye to Medina, ran from the room. Ms. Marnie shot her a disapproving look as she went but Tessa ignored him and instead, searched desperately for Daryl amongst the quickly moving crowd._

_When she finally found him, he was heading towards the front doors with his best friend, the both of them talking in low murmurs. She pursed her lips and moved quickly through the crowd after him, praying she'd catch him before he left or was picked up._

_"Like I was sayin', Merle gets out -"_

_"Daryl!"_

_"—But he's gotta go back 'cause of tha' stupid fuckin' drug possession charge -"_

_"_Daryl_!"_

_"_What_?!" Daryl snapped when his named reached him for a second time. He angrily spun around on him and Dirk's way to the parking lot where his Jeep stood waiting for them, only to see Tessa jogging towards him, a grateful smile appearing on her face. Dirk fought to hold back the smile that threatened to split his face and told Daryl he would wait for him at the Jeep as Tessa finally closed the distance between them, partially breathless. "What do ya want?" He growled, wondering just what was up with his woman thinking that she could get in his shit and then demand his attention afterwards._

_"Look, I'm . . . I'm sorry about Steven." She apologized and a look of clear confusion appeared on his face as he gave a shrug of the same emotion and a wordless shake of his head._

_"What'cha gotta be sorry for? He ain' ya man – ya ain' gotta apologize for him!"_

_Tessa shook her head. "It's just . . . it's _wrong_, what he does to you – harping on you and shit because of your family. I just . . . I got tired of it, that's all." _

_Daryl shook his head again as he shoved his hands down into the front pockets of his jeans. "There ain' nothin' for ya to have gotten tired of! Again, I ain' ya man – ya ain' gotta be worried 'bout me! Hell, I can take care of maself!" _

_"I know," Tessa replied before laughing and giving a roll of her eyes. "Oh believe me, I've heard about what you did to his friend – I _know _that_ _you can take care of yourself!"_

_Daryl took a step towards her then. He meant it to be threatening but she simply stood her ground and continued to gaze up at him defiantly. The act took him aback and for a moment, he forgot what he going to say. When he finally did speak, it was with the vague thought that maybe . . . maybe this chick was alright._

_"Then ya oughta know by now tha' I don' need ya help! I don' want to be friends – I don't _wanna _to be around ya any more than what's necessary!" Daryl shook his head, anger still filling his eyes. "I mean, look at ya! Babydoll, ya _leagues_ above me! Ya pretty and smart and ya don' need to be around some dumbass redneck like me! Ma family ain' for ya – _I _ain' tha man ya want!"_

_Tessa smiled in amusement and arched an eyebrow in the same emotion as she moved to cross her arms in front of her chest. "Who said anything about us hooking up, Daryl?" She asked and he stood there, blinking dumbly for a moment. Had he really insinuated something about hem getting together? Truthfully, he had been so angry when he began firing off his mouth, that he hadn't been entirely sure of what was leaving his mouth. He stood there for a minute, desperately rethinking back to what he had said and when he realized that, yes, those words _had _insinuated a relationship beyond friendship, his face reddened at the amused, slightly smug look on her face._

Goddamn her for being so damn pretty_!_

_His face grew hotter as those words flew through his mind and when he registered that he had actually thought them for a moment. He then angrily shook his head. "Ya know what – _fuck _ya_! _If ya want to sit around moonin' after me, then dammit, its ya loss! Ya'd be tha first one to do it, too, so have fun bein' tha only one in line!" He snapped and Tessa let out a laugh as he shook his head and turned around to head back in the direction of Dirk and his Jeep._

_"Oh believe me, Daryl – I ain't the only one!" She called after him and his teeth gritted slightly. She made him angrier than anyone had in _months, _but yet . . . he also felt strangely amused by it – almost giddy._

_What the Hell was happening to him?_


	17. Chapter 17

**A lot's not happening in this chapter, mainly just Dessa fluff in the beginning, although Beth and Ethan do have a rather tense conversation in the middle, as well as Daryl/twins bonding time in the end, which everyone loves. Overall, I'm content with it, just throwing in a filler chapter before the second half of the previous flashback chapter.  
**

**By the way, for the sake of spoilers, I CANNOT tell whether Tessa is still pregnant or not. So really, I'm sorry if my answers to you guys sound clipped when I tell you to keep reading because really, I CAN'T tell you guys anything or else I'll be spoiling a lot, so, yeah, hope that clears up some things :)**

**DarylDixon'sLover and NanamiYatsumaki: Thanks guys, the flashback chapters are pretty fun to write :)**

**HaloHunter89: I'm actually thinking about starting a fic after this one is finished, about their younger years, but its just a thought. It might not see the light of day but knowing my intense love and interest of Daryl and Tessa, I wouldn't be surprised if it does eventually see light.**

**Enjoy!**

**- Nagiana**

**PS: Brownie points to you who can find the Pop Culture Easter Egg in here. If you do, you get a virtual cookie ;)**

* * *

The room that morning, a day later, was absolutely silent when Daryl opened his eyes, waking up from one of the best sleeps he's had in a good long while. He lay there for a moment, wondering if he had died and gone to Heaven with all the silence that surrounded him, before he registered that there _was _sound in the room. There was a light, slightly cheerful humming and when he turned his head to see where it was coming from, he saw Tessa kneeling on the floor, gathering up the dirty clothes from the previous night, that morning and possibly even the day before yesterday.

"Ya could have woken me up, babydoll . . ." He grumbled as he gingerly rubbed the sleep from his eyes and he could see the smile on Tessa's face out of the corner of his eye as she glanced at him and then got to her feet. Her arms were full of clothes and she dumped them on the nearby desk before turning around to face him.

"Yeah, well, I figured I'd let you sleep in. Today's gonna be a lazy day anyway, we think, so . . . we could afford it."

"Where are tha kids?"

"Ethan's showering and Wren and Beth took the twins outside for some much needed fresh air and sunshine. I got most of our stuff packed up this morning too with Wren's help, so with any luck, we'll be moving into our old room back in the cellblock today, if not in a few days when we finally have it properly cleaned and disinfected." She told him before moving over and taking a seat on the edge of the cot that had miraculously fitted them both on it for the past previous couple nights. Daryl quickly scooted out of the way to give her more room and he smiled as his hand reflexively moved to the small of her back, where his fingers immediately moved underneath her shirt to run along the warm flesh underneath.

"It sounds like ya've been busy all mornin'!" He told her and she nodded in relief.

"I have. And it's a relief too. I've been stuck in this room practically since you guys left. Now that you've returned with the meds, things can hopefully return back to normal. I'll be helping Maggie and Hershel today with distributing the meds to the rest of the people in the quarantine area and then after that . . . after that, I suppose it'll be lunch or dinnertime, wouldn't it?" She asked and he nodded.

"And what 'bout ya, Tess? Ya've . . . have ya been feelin' . . . okay?" He asked, slightly uncertainly, and she gazed at him expressionlessly for a moment before swallowing hard and nodding. She looked down at her hands lying in her lap for a moment before turning her eyes back onto him.

"Of course I'll let you know if it hung on, Daryl, but for right now, I'm still not sure and . . ." She gave a shrug. "To tell you the truth . . . I'm not sure if _want _it to have hung on. It's nothing against you, because it's not – I love you, Daryl, and I always will and if – _if_ – this baby has defied all odds and is clinging to life, then I'll love it as much as I do Ethan and the twins, but . . ." She wordlessly shook her head. "We've got so much right now Daryl – more than, quite frankly, I'm comfortable with. We've been extremely lucky so far, all things considered. We just avoided a major catastrophe by the skin of our teeth, and the twins are turning nine months the first of next month and they're healthy and growing and . . . I just can't help but think that sooner or later, Fate is going to do something to fuck things up, and I . . ." She bit down on her bottom lip. "I never thought I'd be doing this again, Daryl – going through pregnancy and labor and . . . I don't think I can do it again, you know? I always thought I'd be helping _Wren _or _Beth _or-or for the love of God – _Maggie _– with their firsts next! I never . . . I never thought it would be me again."

Daryl gazed at her keenly for a moment before his hand moved from the small of her back to wrap around her waist. His hand curled around her hip and he moved to sit up as he brought her closer to him. "Tess, I know ya – I know ya better than ya know yaself sometimes. Now what's wrong? What _exactly _are ya worried 'bout happenin'?"

Tessa gazed at him for a moment, knowing that he had yet to ask Rick about Carol like the both of them had begged Hershel to tell him to do, but as he continued to gaze at her as intently and with as much concern as he was currently doing, she knew he wouldn't let her off the hook – not that time.

"Have you talked to Rick about Carol yet?" She asked him and Daryl shook his head.

"No. I was supposed to do tha' yesterday, but . . ." He trailed off and closed his eyes before shaking his head. "I was jus' . . . I had a lot on ma mind yesterday and there was a lot to do so we didn' really get a chance to talk. But why do I need to, Tess? _Why_ is everyone tellin' me I need to talk to _Rick_ 'bout her?"

Tessa gazed at him for a moment before quietly speaking: "Carol is gone, Daryl. She's gone and I doubt she's gonna come back anytime soon."

As soon as those words were out of her mouth, it suddenly dawned on him. It dawned on him just _what _Tessa was terrified of when it came to this fragile pregnancy and he shook his head in shock. "W-what do ya mean? Where did she go – did she jus' . . . _leave_?" He asked and Tessa shook her head.

"From how he explained it to me, the both of them went out on a run not that long after you guys left. While on that run, Carol confessed to him that she had killed Karen and David – that _she _had been the one to burn them. She wanted to avoid this whole thing by possibly killing the infection before it even spread. Rick kicked her out of the group because of it – he said he couldn't trust her anymore. And quite frankly, I agree with him, but . . . it was _Carol_, Daryl!"

Daryl nodded sagely. "Ya afraid tha' without Carol, we could lose Hershel in some freak something or another and . . . us be fucked." He replied and she nodded in return, a look of relief that he finally got it, appearing on her face.

"But honestly, Daryl, I don't know if I can do this again – I mean it! Last time was all well and good, but now that we have only one person left who can do this and-and . . .!" She trailed off and shook her head then as she turned her eyes up to his, tears shining in them. "Daryl, I can't give birth to another baby! I . . . I don't think I have it in me – not even for _you_!" Daryl nodded and pulled her into his arms then, her head moving to tuck underneath his chin as he held her and allowed her cry into his chest. It was the first real crying she had been able to do since she found out about the miscarriage in the shower and it felt good. Daryl was quickly becoming the only one she would allow to see her tears and quite frankly, she liked it that way. Daryl was her husband – he _should _be the only man who should see her cry, especially when she needed to stay strong for everyone else.

"Tess, I told ya a long, _long_ time ago, tha' I didn' care how many kids we had, jus' as long as ya were their momma," He told her, his voice coming out slow and soothing and her sniffles deadened to the point to where he knew she was listening to him. "And even though I know this baby has stayed on 'cause he – or _she _– is a Dixon and tha twins held on through worse - we'll still admit we dodged a bullet if it comes out tha' ya lost it."

Tessa stayed silent for a moment before giving a wry chuckle. "'Dodge a bullet' . . . sounds horrible, but it's the truth, ain't it?" She fell silent and stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head. "But I agree with you, Daryl . . . I think the baby hung on. I mean, I'm not for certain, but I can . . . I can _feel _it, you know? It's the way some women instinctively know they're pregnant even before they take the test or go to the doctor's . . . it's along that same line, I think." Daryl gave a snort of amusement.

"Well ya _do_ have more of tha' maternal instinct a Hell of a lotta women I've known and met since this whole shitstorm began, so . . . I won' argue with ya on tha'. Hell, tha' maternal instincts kept _ma_ kids alive through a lotta shit when other's didn'. Guess I can' be complain', can I?"

"Well, I _am _Momma Bear . . ."

"Momma Bear, Den Mother, Queen Bee, Babydoll – there's no real difference – jus' semantics."

"Ooo, that was a big word, Daryl . . . did it take you long to come up with that?" She grinned and Daryl gave a bark of a laugh and rolled his eyes.

"I swear to _God_, if ya and/or Ethan make _one_ more crack 'bout me and big words . . .!" He trailed off and Tessa arched a playfully challenging brow as she turned her eyes up onto him.

"You'll do what exactly?" She asked and he gazed at her for a moment.

"Abso-fuckin'-lutely nothin'?"

"Good boy – keep that in mind."

She spoke the last words with a grin and a wink and for a moment, Daryl marveled at how Tessa could eventually turn even the bleakest, most sarcastic, angriest – whatever – moments, into something so worth living for, for him.

He grinned and after planting a loving kiss on the crook of her neck, got to his feet from the cot, where he began searching the floor for his boots and a shirt. "I'm gonna go check on tha' kids – make sure the twins and Wren ain' got somewhere they ain' supposed to. Then I guess I'm gonna go talk to Rick 'bout tha Carol situation. Man's prolly done pissed his pants with fear from tellin' me by now."

"He's your best friend, Daryl. He's not afraid to tell you she's gone – he knows I've probably already told you. He's just afraid of how you'll _react_ knowing that we only have one person left who could reasonably deliver this baby . . . or _any _baby, for that matter! It's clear by now that your family comes before anything else – that you'll rip out anyone's throat who dares to try and use me or our kids to get to you or hurt you. And while Rick certainly wouldn't do that, the fact does have a tendency to daunt people at times. It's a pretty dangerous weakness for people to try and fuck with, although not many people have tried!" Tessa replied to his slightly teasing words, her own coming out in a soft and gentle tone. Daryl gave a snort of derision, though, as he finished pulling on his boots and turned to gaze at her for a moment.

"Yeah, 'cause ya damn straight tha' _Martin_ ain' gonna do it!"

Tessa shook her head. "We might not get a choice eight months down the road. You know I'll have to take whoever is there at the time . . ." She told him, her voice coming out quiet and slightly on edge, and Daryl nodded as he leaned forward and planted another kiss on her forehead.

"I know, babydoll, I know. And if it comes to tha', then . . . Hell, I'll put aside ma differences, jus' as long as ya and tha' baby comes out on tha' other side safe! But I'm tellin' ya now – tha' asshole _better_ not touch tha' bottle for damn near a _week _leadin' up to it!" He warned her and Tessa grinned as he got to his feet, buttoning up a shirt as he did so.

"Or _Papa_ Bear will come out, right?" She asked him and Daryl gave another snort, this time in amusement again.

"Fuck tha'. They'll see jus' how much of a Big Bad Wolf I can _really_ be!"

"Sexy."

Daryl couldn't help but allow the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards into a smile before he shook his head and leaned down to her. "I worry 'bout ya sometimes." He told her before pressing a light kiss to her lips and she returned it, a grin still on her face.

"Your one to talk, Mr. Crossbow-Wielding-Badass!" She replied and he nodded.

"Oh, I know. Thank God some of ma inherent badassery was passed down to ma kids, right?"

"Oh, for the love of God, Daryl!"

* * *

"Hey, Ethan, wait up!"

Ethan turned around when the bright, cheerful voice reached his ears, only to find the voice belonged to Beth. His eyebrow furrowed in slight confusion, slight interest, and he paused on his way back to the room his mother and girlfriend had shared while they were gone, to wait for her.

She picked up her pace to reach him quicker and when she did, her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't been around him that much in months, so it shocked her at the height difference that was now starting to drastically show. Of course, Beth knew she wasn't the tallest woman in the prison, but she wasn't exactly short, either. Ethan, though . . . Ethan might have been fifteen-years-old but he towered over her, just shy of reaching his father's own 5"11' frame. And like Daryl, he was leanly muscled and handsome - a teenage boy that continued to look years ahead of what his actual age was.

"Hey, I just . . . wanted to see how you were doing." She told him and he nodded as he began a slow walk back in the direction he was going, Beth immediately picking up the pace as well.

"I'm doing fine; thanks for asking." He replied and he could see her balk slightly at the cool tone in his voice. However, she hastened to speak up and to get what she wanted to say, out.

"It's just . . . I heard from Sam and Martin that you guys had some complications while out on the run and -"

She balked again when Ethan came to an immediate stop and whirled around to face her. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and slight alarm. "What do you mean we had 'complications'? What have they been saying?"

Beth shook her head. "Nothing, just . . . Sam and Martin got into it with Daryl a couple of times – they didn't say why, though."

Ethan nodded as he turned around and began walking then, Beth immediately taking up his pace again. "Good. They don't need to be saying anything anyway. The both of them aren't exactly on deddy's good side right now – they don't need to push shit."

"Why, what . . . what happened?" She asked and Ethan glanced at her.

"Was there anything else you needed?" He asked, ignoring her question, and she shrugged.

"No, not really, I just . . . wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't talked or hung out in a while and I was . . . just wondering." She explained and he nodded.

"Well, like I said, I'm doing pretty well, all things considered, so . . ." He trailed off then and came to a stop when he realized that she was no longer walking beside him. He turned to face her, a look of slight confusion appearing on his face again. "What's up?"

Beth shook her head as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "Why did we . . . why did things end between us?" She asked and he immediately out a laugh.

"What thing? I was thirteen, Beth, and you were like, what? Seventeen? _Was _there anything between us but just a mutual crush?" Beth gave a little shrug.

"I . . . _I _like to think there was . . ." She muttered and Ethan's jaw hardened slightly.

"Are you serious? I mean . . . I don't mean to start anything or _sound _mean, but . . ." He gave a weak shrug. "Did you honestly think that something would come up between us? Like I said, I was thirteen, you were seventeen and yeah, that's a four year difference, but still! And then there was Jimmy and the attack on the farm and . . . there were just so many factors that if we _had _become a couple at the end of it, I would have been shocked!"

"But you know I really did like you, Ethan, right?" She told him before giving a shrug. "And I _wanted _to tell you, I really did, but then Seth and Wren showed up and you ended up spending more time with them and before I knew, Wren and you were a thing! And I tried to move on with Seth for a minute there, but he was . . . he was _different_ and then there was Zach but truthfully, he was just passing the time until I thought you and Wren would run your course and . . ." She trailed off when she realized she was rambling and swallowed hard, her hands starting to twist nervously in front of her stomach. "I guess . . . I guess I never got over our - what we had – just ending like it did."

He gave a roll of his eyes. "For the love of God, you act like I fuckin' abandoned you!" Ethan snapped and Beth abruptly stopped talking at the very Daryl-like anger that was starting to flicker in his eyes. "And I didn't abandon you, Beth! If anything, we drifted apart – Hell, I even drifted apart with Glenn some! Seth had come into the group with Wren and I naturally gravitated back towards my best friend before this whole thing started, and me and Wren didn't even get together until Rick and the others came back from Woodbury with momma and without deddy. And before you say anything else, _she_ came to me to make sure that I was okay – _she_ was worried about me! You weren't; you made no effort to _see _if I was alright . . ." He shook his head again, his gaze and voice firm. "Wren was there for me when I needed someone, Beth. I did _not _abandon you, so stop thinking that I did!"

Beth had tears in her eyes as she slowly shook her head. "She's only with you because you look like Daryl, you know? She has some twisted little crush on your daddy and that's it." She nodded then. "I heard her talk about it with a couple of her friends a few months ago before the attack. They were giggling about how good looking and how devoted he is to Tess . . ." She shook her head and took a few steps towards him. "I'm telling you, Ethan – she's only with you because you look and you act like your daddy. If you need any proof, then for the love of God, look at the way she looks at him when he interacts with her. Its pathetic puppy love, that's what it is."

Ethan shook his head, a hard, angry look in his eyes. "We're done talking, Beth." He replied, his voice low and as hard and as angry as the look flickering in his eyes and it was then that he turned around and walked off, Beth finally making no move to follow him. And he didn't know where he was going, just away from _her_.

* * *

"Hey Little Bird, how they doin'?"

Wren smiled and turned around to face Daryl as he came out of the administration building and began making his way towards them. "They're doing really good. They really do like being outside, you know?" She told him and Daryl nodded.

"Well of course they do – they're ma kids, ain' they?" He replied grinningly as he squatted down a few feet away from them. Aayla's head had immediately whirled around at the sound of her father's voice and she quickly broke out into a broad grin when she saw him.

"Dada!"

Turning around from a sitting position, to her hands and knees with a speed and litheness that almost shocked him, she immediately took off for him. When she reached him, she grasped his knee with a confidence that made him let out a slightly incredulous laugh, and pulled herself to her feet. She wobbled uncertainly for a moment but managed to stay upright and he shook his head in bemusement as he held her close, pressing a loving kiss to the soft, downy dark hair covering her head. Danny had finally reached them as well by then, being more interested in one of the blocks in front of him, than his father who had so recently come to see them. Daryl smiled a small smile as he wrapped an arm around his youngest son before pressing the same kiss to his head. Danny would be the loner of the family, he could already tell; that or he'd be like Ethan.

"Hey, Huntress – Little Man. Ya guys givin' Wren a run for her money?" He asked teasingly and while Aayla immediately answered him in a jumble of gibberish and baby language, he turned a questioning gaze up to the girl in question. She shook her head assuringly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"They are really good babies, Daryl – you don't ever have to worry about them becoming too much. And if they do, then Tess is quick in coming to my aid." He nodded and turned his eyes down onto them.

"Hey, Aayla, answer a question for me, okay?" He asked and she immediately turned her beautiful, intelligent Dixon blue eyes up to his, where she waited patiently for him to speak. "What does tha fox say?"

Aayla simply stared at him for a moment before looking away, either disinterested in her father's question or not knowing how to answer it, and Daryl grinned and shook his head before he glanced up at Wren. "Thank God ya guys are alright, ya know?" He spoke quietly as Danny grasped Daryl's other knee and pulled himself to his feet, not as steadily as Aayla had, but he managed to keep his balance, nonetheless. "I worried 'bout ya tha entire time."

"And . . . and what about Ethan?" She asked, her voice coming out slightly hesitant, and Daryl turned his gaze up to her for a moment before nodding.

"He didn' say anythin' but I'm sure he missed ya jus' as much as I missed Tess," He gave a shrug. "Ya mean a lot to him, Wren. Don' doubt tha' he doesn' love ya."

Wren nodded in relief. She wouldn't lie – her conversation with Beth earlier hadn't exactly put her as ease and hearing from Daryl that she meant a lot to his son and that he loved her, certainly made her feel better.

"Why?"

Her eyebrows furrowed gently in slight confusion as his question reached her. "What do you mean?" She asked and he gave a light shrug.

"Why tha sudden uncertainty?" Wren gave another shrug as she moved over to them, where she squatted own in front of them as well. Danny chose to leave Daryl then, and fell into Wren's arms. She helped him back to his feet before glancing at Daryl. He was gazing at her keenly, waiting patiently for her to answer and when she did, she was surprised when her words caught briefly in her throat.

"I . . . I had a talk with Beth while you guys were gone and it just . . . I guess it made me think twice, you know?" She confessed and Daryl heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Don' mind her none. She's jus' a bitter little girl. Good girl – love her to death, but . . . jus' a bitter little girl."

"Why?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in interest, and Daryl opened his mouth to speak but they were interrupted by Ethan walking up to them. He carried an expressionless, almost thoughtful look and when Wren immediately jumped to her feet and moved over to him, where she pecked him on the lips, Daryl noticed that his son's movements were a lot more mechanical than his girlfriend's were as he returned the kiss.

"Everythin' okay?" He asked him quietly and Ethan smiled a strained smile and nodded.

"Yeah . . . yeah, everything's peachy." He told them and while Wren nodded, accepting his answer, Daryl did some with a lot more reluctance. He knew his son – he knew his son better than he did sometimes and likewise, Daryl knew when something got to him.

Something like a bitter little girl.


End file.

Walking Dead, Drama, Romance